Unbroken
by mangotango15
Summary: Emma makes the quick decision to rescue Hook from the giant. Now, not only do they have to find the rest of the crew, but they must find a way back to Storybrooke before Cora can catch them. Will they succeed? Will they fail? Takes place after "Tallahassee"; Rated T, no longer subject to change -The sequel to this story is called RESISTANCE.
1. The Rescue

Chapter 1: The Rescue

Emma:

Emma looked back at the beanstalk and then back at Mary Margret. She told Hook she needed a ten hour head start, yet something in her gut told her she needed him more than he needed her.

"Emma," Mary Margaret looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"Mary Ma –Mom, I think I'm going back for him," she told Mary Margaret.

"Are you sure? Can I trust that nothing will happen?"

"I'm a grown woman, you can trust me. Plus, he might know what Cora's up to; he might just be the key to getting us back to Storybrook," Emma gave a pleading look to her mother.

Mary Margaret knew she lost the argument. She took one last look and gave Emma a long hug. "Be careful, promise me that."

"I promise…Mom," Emma smiled.

Emma looked at Mulan and Aurora. "Mulan, I'm going back up to get Hook. Take Mary Mar –Snow and Aurora in the direction to the Evil Queen's castle. When I get back down from the bean stalk with Hook, we'll catch up."

"How do you know where we'll be?" Aurora asked.

The corners of Emma's mouth started playing up. "I'll have a pirate with me. He'll know the way."

"Emma, be careful, okay?" Mulan looked at Emma and gave her a hug. Emma nodded and gave Aurora a comforting hug.

"Mary Ma –Mom, I'll see you soon," Emma gave Mary Margaret one last hug.

The group parted and Emma approached the bean stalk once more. I wish Hook were here with me right now, Emma thought to herself. No, stop, she continued to think, I don't need support to climb this; I can do it. And Emma began her climb.

Killian:

Killian tried for at least three hours to unsuccessfully free himself from the bond. Three times he yelled for the giant, but the giant never came. The next time I see Emma, she's going to regret her actions, Killian thought.

He finally gave up and plopped to the ground in defeat. He let loose a large sigh before he heard the giant coming. He looked up and saw the giant looming above.

"What do you want, you big git?" Killian yelled to the giant.

The giant took one look at Killian and roared in laughter. "You're calling me a git? Have you looked at yourself?"

Killian wanted so badly to murder the giant, but the giant kept talking. "Is it true that you're the legendary Captain Hook?"

"Ah, so you've also heard of me?" Killian smirked. "Yes, it's true."

The giant's face turned into a malicious stare. "You're the one that stole the last bean from the giants!"

It took a minute for the words to register into Killian's mind before he spoke. "That was years ago. Besides, I needed it more than you did, you big bastard!"

The giant roared in fury and took a swipe at Killian. Killian ducked in time from getting hit by the beefy hand. Killian knew his death would come soon. The giant broke the chain that held Killian in place. Now that Killian was free, he made a run for it but the giant was pretty fast himself. In one fluid movement, the giant swept Killian off his feet and brought him up to an eye-level position. The giant began to squeeze Killian, cutting off his breath.

"Please –stop!" Killian tried to say through long, harsh gasps. It only made the giant squeeze even more.

Killian was turning blue, fast. His vision started to blur and the blood was draining from his face. He fought so hard to keep consciousness, but the giant was winning. He fought hard to find his breath, but it wasn't working. Slowly, his vision was fading.

Emma:

She ran as fast as she could into the giant's lair; surprisingly, she came in just in time. She looked in horror as she saw the giant literally squeezing Hook to death.

She found a golden spear and took aim at the hand that was keeping Hook captive.

"Hey!" she yelled at the giant and launched the spear with all her strength. The spear pierced the giant's skin; he roared and dropped Hook in an instant. Emma ran, and dove to somewhat stop Hook from falling onto solid concrete. The giant looked with fury into Emma's eyes and roared once more.

"You promised you wouldn't kill me!" he bellowed.

Emma yelled so the giant could hear her. "I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to save my friend!"

With that said, Emma tried so hard to make Hook regain consciousness. She checked his pulse and it was still there. I'm sorry Hook, but I have to do this, she thought. She held Hook in one spot and in one fast motion; she struck him hard across the right cheek. Hook's eyes fluttered open and he turned to Emma so showed a face of relief.

Emma realized the giant had left while she was dealing with Hook. "Hook," she said to him, "we have to go, now."

"Why are you in such a rush, love? Can we not enjoy this moment for a while longer?" he smirked.

"Don't make me slap you again," Emma spit out words of bitterness.

The words make Hook laugh. "After you, my princess."

Emma glared at him and ran out of the lair, with Hook trailing behind her. They raced to the bean stalk and not once did they look back. They reached the bean stalk when they felt the ground rumbling. Emma turned and almost screamed; the giant was storming his way across the grounds in their direction.

She felt Hook grab her hand and hauled her onto the bean stalk. Emma took a firm hold on the vines and looked back at the giant. He was only ten feet away now, nine, eight, seven…

"Move, Emma!" Hook yelled.

Emma remembered she was on the bean stalk and began frantically making her way down, with Hook by her side. They made it one hundred yards down the bean stalk before they felt the shaking once more.

"What is that bloody bastard doing now?" Hook looked up.

Emma was scared and began having a panic attack. Why do I have to be afraid of heights, she wandered. Why me?

Hook looked over and saw the look of fright written all over her face.

"Don't worry, love, I won't leave you," Hook flashed her a million dollar smile.

Emma didn't have the time to throw him an award-winning death stare because she was too busy worrying about her life. She was too scared she was frozen in the same spot while the bean stalk continued to shake. Hook inched close enough so he could support her.

He looked her straight in the eye and tried to reassure her. "Just don't worry about the giant. I won't leave you alone, I'll always be right by your side. Keep going, your mother is waiting for you."

He took her hand and kissed it. "Let's go, Emma."  
Hook said her name in a way that made Emma realize one thing: he was telling her the truth. She regained her focus and nodded. She took a deep breath and moved. Hook smiled and moved with her. Emma knew her mother needed her, and she needed to get back, for Henry, which motivated her to move faster.

What seemed like days to Emma was only hours; she looked down and saw the ground. She smiled and climbed faster, but lost her footing. Hook saw what happened and instinctively grabbed her left arm. "For Christ's sake, Emma, be careful!"

"Let me go!" Emma ripped her arm away from Hook.

"I was just trying to help," Hook looked at her and continued the descent.

I know, Emma thought, but I just can't trust you yet.

Killian:

He hated that one moment he could he passionate and sincere with Emma, but the next, she became the devil. He kept descending with Emma in silence. They were only twenty feet away from the ground, so he began to descend faster.

"Hook, slow down!" he heard Emma say to him.

"Speed up, my darling!" he laughed at her.

He loved it when Emma glared at him; it only made her mad and he loved it when she was mad. He loved watching her making the attempt to best him. She's like the female version of Killian Jones, he thought to himself.

The ground was close enough for Killian to jump. He landed on his feet and smiled. He looked up and Emma and saw her frozen once again.

"Don't worry darling, just jump. I'll catch you," he smiled to her.

"I can't!" Emma cried.

"If you don't jump sooner or later, I'll have to come up and get you myself," he smirked.

He saw the look on Emma's face changed and without second guessing it, Emma jumped off. Killian did as he said and caught Emma in his arms. He gave her his best smile and for a moment, they were lost in each other's eyes. Almost as quickly as it had come, Emma quickly got out of Killian's arms.

"Nice move," she glared at him.

"It's not my best, but thank you, princess," he bowed.

"Never do it again," Emma walked right past him, treating him as if he were some inferior person. She turned around and looked at him. "Be thankful I saved your ass up there."

"Let's not forget you were the one that left me in the first place, Emma Swan," Killian dared to challenge THE Emma Swan.

"Just forget it," she rejected the challenge and continued walking away.

"What made you do it?" he asked as he caught up with her.

"Don't worry about it!" she snapped. "Like I said, be happy I came to get you."

"Whatever you say, love," he laughed. "Please, lead the way."

Emma gave him one last hard look before walking.

The duo began their way towards the Evil Queen's castle.


	2. Peter Pan

Chapter 2: Peter Pan

Emma:

They walked for a long time with an uncomfortable silence between them. It took a while for one to break the silence.

"Why do you want the portal so badly?" Hook asked.

"Why do you care?" Emma retorted.

Hook put his hands up in an offensive way, yet looked at Emma mockingly. He smiled. "Princess, I'm just trying to make conversation."

Emma sighed and knew that Hook wouldn't give up.

"I need to get back to my son, Henry."

Hook stopped in his tracks and looked surprisingly at Emma. "You have a son?"

"Does that bother you?" Emma asked slowly.

"And, who exactly is the father?"

"That's none of your business, Hook," she let his name roll off her tongue with a taste of malice.

Hook only smirked. "Embarrassed, are you?"

Emma folded her arms across her chest and let the anger fill her up. "No, it's just none of your business. I just met you and you expect me to tell you every little detail about me. Well, guess what, it doesn't work that way, buddy."

Emma continued to walk as Hook registered her words. "You really don't have any trust, do you?" Hook poked around.

Emma had had enough of Hook. She hated the fact that he asked so much about her. She hated that he tried seducing her with his smoldering hot looks. She hated the way his smile always got to her. She didn't want to trust him at all.

"I've had my fair share of trust issues," Emma didn't know what else to say.

They continued to walk in silence for about an hour.

I can't let him get to me, Emma thought to herself, not after what happened with Neal and Graham. She continued to think to herself, what about him. What's his life story?

Hook must've seen the look on Emma's face. "Is there something you'd like to ask, love?"

She whipped her head in his direction. "What about you, Hook? Is there anything in your life that keeps you going?"

Killian:

Emma asked at the wrong time.

"I've already told you enough about Milah," Killian chose his words carefully.

"All you told me about this Milah is the fact that Go –Rumplestiltskin took her away from you," Emma responded.

"That's all you need to know, besides the fact that I'd like to get revenge on that bloody crocodile," Killian said the last words with disgust.

If I want Emma to trust me, Killian thought, I have to trust her with everything that I tell her.

They didn't know how long they had been walking for because it took them a while to continue conversation.

"What was it like?" Emma asked sincerely, "to live in Neverland?"

Killian laughed. "You're a real princess, you're the daughter of THE Snow White and Prince Charming, you're complete royalty, and you're the future heir to the land, and you've never heard the stories of Neverland."

It was Emma's turn to mock Killian. "My bad, Hook. I just wanted to hear your side of the story. It's called starting a conversation, right?"

Killian gave Emma his "story time" look; he saw a smile hint on her face.

"What would you like to know about Neverland?" he asked.

"Peter Pan," she said, seriously.

He looked at her incredulously. "You're the first to ask about him."

So, Killian began his story:

"I'm not sure what your version of the story is, but here's mine.

"Peter knew his parents, as a matter of fact; he grew up here in this very Enchanted Forest. You see, love, he ran away when he was fourteen and he ended up in Neverland. How do I know? I was roaming the Lost Boys' den because they took the gold that I wanted; I told myself I wouldn't stop until I got my hand on that gold. And, eventually I did. That's when the pesky little ass appeared out of thin air. Well, not literally, but…well, you get what I'm saying.

"I was ready to board my ship when the little boy appeared at my feet. There was dark blue and black smoke coming from underneath him, so I assumed he made himself a portal to transport himself, though I'm not sure how because at the time, the ass had no magic.

"I picked him up by the neck and took him to my ship because I was curious. Smee took him and threw him on the deck. I remember the day; I'll never forget. I asked him, 'Who are you, you little git?' And he responded 'I don't know.'

"I didn't understand how someone could forget their name, so I asked again, and still, he replied 'I don't know.' But, I knew he was lying. It took me a while to realize how he ended up in Neverland, but in the end, I figured it out."

"Let me guess," Emma said, "Peter Pan had magic after all.

"No, princess, let me finish the story," he gave her a heart-melting grin.

"I looked in his hand and realized he was hiding something. I threatened to kill him if he didn't give it to me, but he was a brave one. He turned and ran. But, he stopped and realized that the ship had already set sail, so, my crew and I laughed at him. He didn't have any other choice but to show me what was in his hand, and when I saw, I thought my life had been made. The last magic bean was there, in his hand, waiting to be snatched by me. But, he was too quick. He could tell by the look in my eyes that I wanted the bean. He backed up slowly and asked why I wanted the magic bean and I told him I wanted to skin a certain crocodile, and you, love, know very well that I'm talking about Rumplestiltskin."

'Wait, how did you get to Neverland," clearly, Emma was deeply interested in the story, and Killian was happy to see that.

"I used another bean of course. Before things changed, magic beans were a common thing in the several realms of magic. They were used to create portals. That little ass just happened to have the last one."

"Understood, continue," Emma replied.

"There was a gleam in his eyes that caused me to recognize something, someone. It was strange because he reminded me of Milah, the woman I told you about. So, I asked, 'Who are your parents, boy?' He told me he knew who I was. He recognized me from the bar, and it hit me then that the boy was Rumplestiltskin's son…Milah's son."

Killian knew that telling Emma the truth would hurt, but he did it anyway; it was the only way he'd get her to trust him. He had to be honest.

"You took Go –Rumplestiltskin's wife?" Emma looked shocked.

"I fell in love with her the minute I saw her," Killian admitted. "But, please, let me finish."

Emma gave him one last glare. "Fine."

"Thank you.

"After he spoke the truth, a little plan hatched in my mind. I asked for the bean, but he said no. He chose to swim away with it, or so I thought. He jumped overboard to dive into the water, but the cursed bean gave him the powers to fly, so he flew away with my bean.

"I knew Peter would want to find his father, so I'm almost certain he used the bean to go to the land without magic…your world."

"You never got the bean?" Emma asked.

"The boy was smart, and cunning. He bested me every time we met, almost like you," he grinned in her direction; Emma rolled her eyes.

"Let me get this straight. Peter Pan is Rumplestiltskin's son, and Peter's mother, Milah, is your mistress and Rumplestiltskin's wife."

"Correct."

"Peter Pan had the last magic bean and used it to transport between worlds."

"Correct."

"You wanted to get close to Peter to get to Rumplestiltskin."

"Correct."

"So, what was your plan, before it failed every time you attempted to put it in action?"

Killian gave Emma a rare glare. "I was going to travel with Peter to your land to get revenge on the crocodile."

Killian watched as Emma's hazel eyes grew wide in realization. "You wanted to kill Peter Pan, didn't you, right in front of Rumplestiltskin."

"Correct. Peter blamed me for his mother's death because he refused to believe that his father was a killer."

"And, you're saying that he's somewhere in my land now."

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"And, you want to go to my land, find him, and get revenge on Rumplestiltskin."

"That's what I plan on doing."

Killian knew Emma trusted him even less after he told her the truth, but what else was he supposed to do?

"You can get revenge on Rumplestiltskin all you want, but you are not going to kill his son," Emma finally said.

"You think you can stop me from getting the revenge that I want," Killian smirked.

Emma walked up to him and put her face inches away from Killian's. "I want to listen, and listen carefully. I know I just met you, and I know you expect me to trust you now that you told me all of this, but I want to make one thing clear to you. I rescued you because I had faith in you. I know you're a better person than this; I know you have something to live for. I don't know what it is, and I don't care. I know that deep down, you are not a killer, and it's going to take a lot more than this to earn my trust."

Emma let her gaze linger while Killian stared deep into her hazel eyes.

"You truly do care about me, don't you," Killian whispered, barely audible.

"Dammit, Hook!" Emma cried. "That's the response I get? You truly are unbelievable."

Emma stormed off and Killian ran after her. "Emma, wait!"

"Why did you tell me all of this anyway?" Emma turned, livid.

"You're the one that asked," Killian responded. "That's beside the point, princess."

"Don't call me that!"

"Cora can't get to Storybrooke. She needs a magic bean."


	3. Warning

Chapter 3: Warning

Snow White:

After they left the bean stalk, Snow White led both Mulan and Aurora in the direction of Regina's castle. They'd walked for nearly four hours without rest, discussing about what they would do if they ever encountered Cora on the way. They talked about what the Enchanted Forest was like before the Dark Curse and Snow remembered the time when she was happy.

"Could we rest for a little bit?" Aurora pleaded. "We haven't stopped to rest for hours."

"I agree with Aurora, Snow," Mulan pitched in. "We'll need rest at some point. We can rest for maybe three hours and then pick up again afterwards."

Snow pondered on the thought for a little and finally agreed. "Let's take turns for watches. I'll take first watch."

Mulan agreed and went to find a place to sit with Aurora. "Do you mind if I go to sleep?" Aurora asked Mulan.

"No, I don't mind," Mulan told her. Mulan sat down, and watched as Aurora also sat to rest her head on Mulan's lap.

"There's no need to rest," the three heard a familiar voice nearby.

Snow instinctively drew her bow, while Mulan and Aurora hastily got up and drew their weapons, sword and dagger. "Now ladies," the voice said, "there's no need for weapons here."

The three turned and saw who it was. Snow looked in horror as she watched Cora slowly approach the three. Snow quickly darted over to Mulan and Aurora to protect them.

"What do you want?" Snow demanded.

Cora laughed. "Oh, dear queen, you know exactly what I want."

"Well, the compass isn't here!" Aurora said from behind Mulan and Snow.

"So the sleeping beauty speaks for once," Cora taunted. "And, what exactly does the sleeping beauty know about the compass?"

"We lost Emma," Snow said. "We don't know where she is."

"She's with Hook, isn't she," Cora eyed Snow and Mulan suspiciously.

"Yes, she is," Mulan eyed her back.

"Emma and Hook are trying to find a way back to my castle," Aurora spoke up again. "The wraith came to this land through my castle. They think there's magic still lingering in the area. There's broken tile near the bed where I slept for ages; it's the spot where Snow White and Emma came through. That's where they're going to make the portal."

"They obviously don't understand that they don't know how to use magic," Cora sneered. She turned around and began do walk in the direction of Aurora's castle. She almost left when she turned back around.

"If I discover that you three are lying to me, just know that the three of can join charming little Prince Phillip."

With the words said, she walked away and dissolved into a cloud of black smoke.

"I don't know that I want to rest anymore," Aurora said with a shaky voice.

"We'll rest, but we'll continue walking until nightfall," Snow told her.

"There's only two hours left until night comes; the sun is already setting," Mulan pointed out.

The three kept their weapons out, ready to use in case something happened. They trekked who knows how many more miles until night came. They settled by a creek.

"Let's stop here for the night," Snow ordered. "I'll take first watch."

"No, I will," Mulan stepped up. "You already protected us from Cora, so I'll be glad to take first watch. Make sure Aurora gets enough sleep."

Snow looked at her gratefully and agreed. "Thank you, Mulan. If anything happens, we'll be right by that tree over there," Snow pointed to her left.

Mulan nodded and turned to face the creek. Snow walked with Aurora over to the tree and sat down. She watched as Aurora lowered her head into her lap and she looked across the clearing and watched as Mulan stared into the sky, not knowing what she was thinking about.

Emma, wherever you are, please hurry and find us, Snow thought to herself, I miss you.


	4. The Lion and the Lamb

Chapter 4: The Lion and the Lamb

Killian:

"What do you mean; Cora needs a magic bean to make a portal?" Emma turned and spit the words out. "You just said so yourself that there's none left in existence!"

He didn't know how to explain to her. Killian looked out to the horizon and saw that the sun was already setting. "How about we settle here for the night? Does that sound good, princess?"

"Stop changing the topic!" Emma cried, "And don't call me princess!"

He stooped so that he was eye level with Emma, and it was his turn to put his face inches away from hers. "I'll explain to you, if you promise to settle here for the night because I don't know about you, but I'm bloody tired."

Emma stared into the deep blue eyes, momentarily forgetting her name. Killian watched as she was lost in his eyes before he smirked. "You know, love, there's more time to admire my looks later. I just need an answer."

Emma snapped out of her state and glared at Killian. "Just for you Hook, we can settle here for the night."

"Good, now help me get some wood so we have something to make a fire. I'll explain to you then."

Emma pouted and started looking for wood while Killian stood and watched over the area. He continuously glanced over in the direction that Emma had walked, hoping that she's come back sooner. Where the hell did she go, he thought. She'll get lost out there; she needs me, I need her…whoa, he continued to think, where did that come from?

He shook his head and continued to wait for her…

The moon and stars lit the night sky and Emma still wasn't back. I should've known she wouldn't come back, Killian thought to himself, disappointed and upset. He turned around and jumped back a little. Emma was standing there, with a giant pile of firewood at her feet.

"It took you long enough to notice," Emma smirked, using Killian's trademark smile.

Killian stared at her in surprise before laughing. "Well, dear, it looks as if you've bested me for a third time."

"You've got to step up your game, Hook," Emma laughed.

"You just smiled and laughed, all in the same minute. Emma Swan, what's the occasion?" Killian taunted.

As fast as it had come, Emma's smile faded. "Shut up, Hook. And, besides, there are ogres out there. The last one I saw was about two miles from this location."

Killian began to pick up firewood and began to improvise. "Well, love, I'm here to protect you. I told you, I'll always be there for you," he winked.

Emma rolled her eyes and began to help Killian with the fire. "So, about that magic bean…"

Being a pirate, Killian was about to start a fire in no time. He grabbed two more sticks and did the same thing; he added it to his new-born fire and watched as it began to grow little by little. He found stones and made a circle large enough to enclose the fire in one spot. Before long, Emma added enough sticks and the fire was large enough to last for another week. "So, the bean," Killian began.

"Like I said, Cora needs a magic bean to open the portal. It was said that the last magic bean was given to the bloody little ass I told you about, but I trust my instincts and I think there's more surviving. The giants are a lot smarter than they look, Emma."

"You're saying that the giants hid the beans before the war," Emma gave him a puzzled look.

"No one else believes me, and quite frankly, I'd forgotten about it. But, your pretty little face showed up here in this land with your Queen mother, and I remembered.

"My Queen mother has a name, you know. You can just call her Mary Ma –Snow White. And, you're the only one that believes there are still magic beans still existing."

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Do you have any idea where these beans are?"

"I've not the slightest clue," Killian looked into Emma's hazel eyes.

She laughed, "We're hopeless."

"Actually, none of us know how the compass works. Cora only believes that the compass will point to the portal," Killian commented.

"Let me guess," Emma rolled her eyes, unable to resist her smiling. "You think the compass will miraculously lead to the magic beans."

"No, actually I think your warrior friend knows where the magic beans are," Killian flashed another smile.

He watched as Emma's face changed. Is that jealousy I see, Killian thought as he watched Emma. But the face soon changed to sadness, want.

"What if we never get back to them? What if we never find them?" Emma looked down and stared at her feet.

Killian didn't know what else to do, so he scooted so that he was sitting next to Emma. "We'll find them, love. Don't worry. Forget about the magic beans right now, forget I even told you."

She didn't look up. "Hook, if we really find magic beans, we'll have the advantage over Cora because then we'll have the compass and the beans."

"Oh…okay," Killian said slowly. "Listen, love, why don't you get yourself a beauty sleep. You've done enough work today already."

Emma sighed and leaned to her left so she could rest her head on Killian's shoulder. Instinctively, Killian wrapped his right arm over Emma. He felt Emma shudder under his touch and he smiled.

"Hook, don't think that I trust you," Emma said without looking up.

"Love, if I wanted to win you over, I wouldn't need you to trust me," Killian smiled.

Emma groaned and closed her eyes; she fell asleep within ten minutes. Killian looked to make sure she was asleep before he laid her down. He stared at the fragile face and thought to himself, she really is a sleeping beauty.

He truly did miss Milah, but Emma gave Killian a different feeling. She was just like him. Milah was fun, and she was ready to lead a fresh, new life and take on any challenge. But, Emma…she was like Killian. She knew how to argue, she never took no for an answer, and she picked her fights carefully. Killian may be a pirate, but he knew his limits. The one thing Emma had that Milah didn't have: motivation. Emma had something to live for, while Milah simply wanted to enjoy life. It's the one thing Killian didn't like about Milah, but here was Emma. Is she worth it, Killian asked himself? She's a princess and I'm a worthless pirate.

Before he knew it, he was falling for the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.

"One day, Emma Swan. One day."

He lied down next to Emma and stared at the stars, but he couldn't stop his eyes from closing. Soon enough, Killian drifted to sleep.

Emma:

It was the middle of the night when she heard the movements.

She struggled to open her eyes because she was so tired, but eventually, she succeeded. It took Emma a while to register her whereabouts, but she remembered she was in the Enchanted Forest, and she was stranded with Hook.

Hook, she thought. That bastard.

She turned over to see her companion sound asleep. What the fuck, I thought he was supposed to be keeping watch, she thought.

She stared into the pirate's face and unconsciously stared for some time. Why does he have to be so good-looking, she wandered. No, Emma, stop. You can't fall for him; he's a damn pirate and I'm a princess. It just doesn't work that way. Plus, he'll leave, just like the rest.

Emma was about to lie back down next to Hook, but she paused with caution as she heard the trees move. There's no wind, she observed while she examined their surroundings.

The trees began to sway back and forth slowly while there were footsteps approaching at a distance nearby. Slowly, Emma stood up and walked on the edge of the clearing. Her eyes kept darting to Hook ever so often just to make sure he was still alright, but soon, the ground began to shake.

Since when do earthquakes happen in the Enchanted Forest, Emma began to frantically look around, trying to figure out what was coming their way.

She ran back to Hook to wake him up, but fell during the process because the ground was shaking violently enough to cause a building to crumble within seconds.

How is that bastard pirate still sleeping, Emma thought to herself.

She carefully turned her head and saw the source of all the commotion: ogres…three…

She turned her head back and saw Hook roll to his other side. The ogres didn't see her, but she was sure they'd scented both her and Hook. She crawled without making a single sound and held her breath. When she reached Hook, she prodded his side, making the attempt to wake him up. Guess what? She failed.

"Hook, wake the fuck up!" she whispered harshly.

No response.

"Hook, wake the fuck up!" this time, vigorously shaking him now.

His eyes slowly fluttered opened and looked at Emma. "You really just love having me in your arms, isn't that right, Swan?"

She disgustingly let him go, but she continued to whisper. "If you want to live to see Rumplestiltskin, I suggest you help me get away from these ogres!"

Hearing Rumplestiltskin's name had gotten his attention, and he led his eyes to the creatures behind you. Hook's eyes widened as he slowly backed away from Emma.

"Emma, come here," he beckoned.

It was one of the times Emma trusted Hook to protected her. They slowly back away, but Emma made the mistake of stepping on a small pile of leaves, creating a _CRUNCH_!

"Swan!" Hook glared at her. "What the hell are you doing!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to!" Emma's words were sincere.

The ground began to rumble again and Emma noticed as the ogres began looming in their direction. They must've seen us, Emma panicked.

She grabbed Hook's wrist and ran in the direction of Regina's castle, but the ogres made no hesitation and kept moving in their direction. Before either of them knew it, they were holding hands, running frantically for their lives.

Emma's legs were burning by the time the ogres had caught up to them; Hook still had steam left over.

"Swan, keep going!" he encouraged her.

"I'm trying!"

"Listen, I'm going to dive left, you dive to the right. It'll cause a distraction for the ogres!"

"There are three of them!"

"Yeah, all with a brain the size of a pea! Chasing two people is already too much work for them!"

Emma didn't have any other choice but to listen to Hook.

"On three!" he warned her. "One –two –three!"

Hook disappeared to the left and Emma dove to her right. Please come for me, she thought to herself. Hook doesn't deserve to die yet.

She didn't get her wish.

The ogres veered left and went for Hook.

"Killian!" she cried. "God dammit!"

I wish I had a sword right now, Emma thought, panicking. She looked frantically for a last-minute weapon she could use, but she was hopeless. She turned to look back, but something caught her eye. She looked to the ground five feet ahead of her when she saw a piece of some type of metal reflecting the moonlight. She rushed up to inspect the item, only to find a sword covered by the fallen leaves.

She picked it up and rushed forward. The ogres had stopped moving by then and were looking down. Oh god, Emma tried to look around, I hope he's not dead.

She took her pick and picked the middle ogre first. Using all the energy her legs could muster, she took a giant leap and jumped onto the back of the crouching ogre. She reached the ogre's neck and paused. She lifted her sword and sliced the creature's neck before stabbing it in the left eye.

The ogre roared as it began to lumber back and forth, carrying Emma. She jumped off in time before the ogre fell onto its back, lifeless. She crawled over to Hook and checked his pulse. It was there, but barely alive. Please wake up, Hook. I need your help, she prayed. With a sudden movement, he grabbed her wrist. "Relax, love, it's called playing dead," he winked.

Emma gave him a small smile that led to a smile on his face. She turned her head, but at the same instant she was dealt a crushing blow to the side of her head.

In an instant, she blacked out.


	5. The Game Plan

Chapter 5: The Game Plan

Cora:

Cora paced the cavern while Hook was leaning on a rock wall, arms folded across his chest.

"You know very well that I could kill you right now," Cora walked towards him, "but we both know we need each other to get to Storybrooke."

"The only reason I'm here is because you're my only hope of getting to the damn crocodile," Hook replied.

She used her magic to choke him. "What was that?" she began, tightening the grip on Hook. "You're not getting to Storybrooke without me, so I suggest you quit talking back and actually pay attention."

She released the chokehold and left Hook to collapse to the cavern ground.

"What do you want with me?" Hook refused to look at her.

"It's simple. Snow White and her daughter are roaming the lands right now, trying to find a way back to Storybrooke. They're getting help from that Mulan girl and the other princes, Aurora. I want you to befriend them; use them to get your hands on the compass. And, when that job is done, come right back to me."

"They'll know that I'm working for you."

"That's why you'll go to their campsite and act as a beggar. I'll kill everyone else, and you'll be the only one left alive. That's when you make the move. Make them trust you."

"What if I don't come back to you? What if I join forces with them?"

"It's simple," Cora sneered. "I'll find you, and then I'll kill you, the same way your favorite crocodile killed your beloved Milah."

Hook looked at her with fury in his eyes. "Never speak of Milah."

Cora kneeled down next to the pirate. "Honey, I'm more powerful than you. I can do whatever I want."  
She stood back up and walked to the mouth of the cavern. "They'll be going to the castle tomorrow to see if Emma's old wardrobe still works. While they journey to the castle, we'll go to the campsite and begin the process."  
"But…" Hook began.

"Deal with it."

Cora walked to the cavern mouth and disappeared in a column of smoke.

"Bloody bitch," Hook whispered to himself.


	6. Outcasts

Chapter 6: Outcasts

Killian:

He'd been carrying Emma over his shoulder ever since he'd kill the other two ogres. He watched in horror as Emma got the wind knocked out of her. He was forced to look at her cold body that lay limp in front of him.

He'd never been so angry in his entire life. He remembered everything that happened:

He grabbed the sword by Emma side and stood up to charge the ogres. He lured the ogres away from Emma's body and into the clearing. He picked the smaller ogre first and charged first. I'm a pirate, he told himself; I can do this, no big deal.

He slid beneath the ogre and sliced at its legs, causing a fountain of blood to spurt. He had the advantage, sword and hook, and he was fast. He clambered up the ogre's back, digging his hook into the creature as he made his way up. The bigger ogre stared dumbfounded the entire time, clueless as to what was happening. Hook reached the top of the ogres head and smiled to himself. Emma would've loved to see this, he smiled.

He stabbed the sword into the ogre's shoulder. Here we go, he smiled again.

He took his hook, dug it into the ogre's forehead, and slowly, but carefully, dragged it all the way to the back of the creature's neck, giving a deep enough cut to penetrate the skull and to deliver the kill. He grabbed the sword and swung onto the next ogre that was only one foot away. The second ogre fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

One more, Killian told himself.

The third ogre began waving his beefy arms, trying to get a hold of Killian, but there was no use. Killian hadn't done the maneuver in ages, but it didn't hurt to try. He jumped into the air, sword ready to use; he twisted around, still in the air, and brought the sword around and decapitated the ogre. He felt himself falling, falling, but he knew exactly what to do next. He bent his knees before impact and rolled, so he would end up rolling on the ground…kind of like a ninja…kind of, but not really…

The third's ogre's head landed a few yards away from the beheaded corpse. Killian looked at the ogres in triumph. I've still got it, he smiled to himself.

Killian rushed over to Emma's side and checked her pulse. Surprisingly, there was still a heartbeat, but she was out cold. He slipped the sword into his belt and gingerly picked up Emma. Whoa, she's actually pretty light, Killian thought to himself as he draped her over his shoulder.

He began walking in the right direction, hoping to find Snow White, Mulan, and Aurora as soon as possible.

Emma Swan, please wake up, Killian prayed.

Emma:

The sun was just beginning to rise as Emma's eyes fluttered open. Her head was buried in Hook's neck and he was carrying her. She tried to move her head to look at him, but it was too painful to even move her body.

"No, no, no, love. Don't do that," Hook looked down at her, fear and worry in his eyes.

"What happened?" Emma asked warily. She wanted so badly to cry because the pain was unbearable. At the moment, though, she was very content to be in Hook's arms.

"Well, my shoulder couldn't handle it anymore, so I had to carry you like this," Hook smirked. And, it was then when Emma realized her arms were draped around his neck, though she felt as if she shouldn't move…it was an excuse to stay close to him.

"You saved my life, so it was my turn to save yours, dear," Hook continued. "You killed the first ogre, but one of the other ones knocked you out cold, so I killed the other two ogres before anything else would happen. You're very welcome for saving your ass, Princess Swan."

Emma scoffed. "Fine, we're even. Now, let me walk."

"Not a chance. The trauma is still too much for you to bear."

"I can handle it."

"No, you can't. I've been walking for about five hours now, but I can't risk letting you get hurt again."

He cares for me, she thought. Why?

"Besides, my walk is over. Your mother can take care of you while I get some rest," he told her.

"What are you talking about? My mother's camp is still a while away."

"Actually, no. I would tell you to move your head, but I'm not that mean. I can see them over there."

Emma didn't care if her head was in pain; she snapped her head so she could see what Hook was talking about. Sure enough, Snow was standing there, her back to Hook and Emma.

Emma tried moving her head back, but she cried out in pain. "Jesus fucking Christ!"

This time she let the tears run down her face. She closed her eyes, crying silently as Hook rushed forward to the camp. Snow evidently heard Emma because she turned around with wide eyes. "Emma!" she cried, and rushed forward to her daughter.

The last thing she remembered was hearing her mother's voice and feeling the warmth of her body.

Snow White:

"Why is the right side of her face painted in blood?" Snow said through her tears.

"I told you, she took a blow from an ogre. She didn't see it coming, I promise," Hook told her.

"What makes you think I'll believe you?" Snow retorted as she watched her daughter regain consciousness. "Emma, are you alright?"

"Where –where am I?" she asked.

Snow explained what happened. "Well, Hook brought you to Mulan and I, and we put you in this tent. Mulan and Aurora went to the creek to get some water so we can clean your face. Hook already told me about the ogres…did an ogre really do this to you?"

It took a while for Emma to speak. "Yes, actually. Hook saved my life."

Snow made a face and Hook smiled. 'Do you believe me now, your majesty?"

"Shut it, Hook," Snow glared at him.

"Well, I see where Emma gets her personality," he smirked. "Like mother, like daughter."

She simply turned away and hid her anger. "How badly does your head hurt?"

"It hurts to move it," Emma sighed. "And, what did you mean by 'clean your face'?"

"Well…Hook you tell her."

"Love, your face looks like someone tried painting it red," he smirked. "It's still gorgeous though."

Snow didn't stop her as she watched her daughter feel the blood on her face. "What the fuck…"

"Hook, please, go check if Mulan and Aurora are back with the water," she didn't want him in the tent. "I'd like a word with my daughter."

Hook sighed because he knew he could do nothing else and left the tent.

"Emma, has he done anything bad?"

"If anything, we can trust him. He stays true to his word."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Well then, while you were out, he also told me about magic beans and a way to get back to Storybrooke, a way to beat Cora."

"What'd he tell you?"

"He said Cora needs a magic bean, or magic beans, to create a portal because her magic isn't strong enough."

"What if Cora finds out?"

"Cora thinks you and Hook are making your way to Aurora's castle, actually. Aurora lied for us."

"Hook said Mulan knows where the magic beans are."

"She doesn't know where they are because she also thought that the last one was gone."

"So, if she doesn't know where the magic beans are, where are they?"

There was a moment of silence.

Snow didn't know how to tell her.

"Mary Ma –Mom, is there something I should know?" Emma began to panic. "Are we ever going to get back to Henry and Dad?"

Snow calmed Emma as she tried sitting up. "Emma…your father and I, well, we know where the magic beans are. After the war with the giants, your father climbed the bean stalk and took the remaining beans from the giants and hid them."

She didn't know how Emma would handle the news but, she had to tell her at some point.

"So…where are the beans?" Emma asked.

"Where else would they be?" Snow looked down and smiled.

Snow looked back at Emma and waited as Emma registered what was told. "You're saying we're going back to your castle –our home –to get the beans?"

Snow nodded and laughed. "I was going to tell you earlier, but we were separated and I didn't know if it was true. We were going to go to Regina's castle to get her mirror and use that as a portal, but now, we can go back to the castle. We can get the wardrobe ashes; we have the compass; we can get the beans; we can do it all before Cora does."

"So, are the beans still there? The castle was destroyed."

"Your father and I hid them in a place where they couldn't be destroyed."

"I assume you're not going to tell me because there are people outside."

"I'll tell you when we get there," Snow smiled.

Hook walked back in the tent with the bucket of water and a cloth. Snow and Hook got to work with cleaning Emma's blood-stained face while Snow told Hook the plans of going back to her castle.


	7. Now You See It

Chapter 7: Now You See It

Mulan:

Mulan was discussing with Snow about the magic beans as the five began their journey to Snow's castle.

"Is it necessary for Hook to carry Emma?" Mulan gave a quick glance to the pair.

"None of us can carry her, except him, so, it's what's best for Emma," Snow sighed.

"As you wish," Mulan nodded.

They traveled in silence for some time before Mulan stopped in her tracks. "We're near water."

Snow, Aurora, and Hook followed in Mulan's tracks and stopped.

"How can we be by the water?" Aurora asked.

The group kept walking until they reached the water's edge. Mulan traced her eyes out to the horizon and saw their destination. She pointed to the ruined castle. "There, which will take longer, land or water?"

Hook spoke up. "It'll be faster by sea, dear, about five days. If we go by foot, it'll give Cora time to catch up to us."  
Aurora looked at Snow while Mulan continued to stare at the castle. "How exactly do we travel?"

"The blue fairy enchanted my ship so that it'll always come to me when I need it most, but ever since the curse, it hasn't exactly worked," Hook responded to her. "Ah, look, my little princess is waking up."

They all looked at Emma as she stirred, still drowsy on Hook's back. Mulan was about to speak, but a sound came out from the sea. A ship appeared from the horizon, sailing in their direction.

"There's no one sailing the ship," Snow looked at it in wonder.

"It's magic," Mulan said.

"No, the enchantment is working again," Hook smiled his trademark million-dollar smile.

"So _The Jolly Roger_ comes to the rescue," Emma yawned from Hook's shoulder.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Mulan said. "We're about to set sail on this so called _Jolly Roger_ ship of Hook's."

Hook laughed out loud. "_The Jolly Roger, _where did you here that? I'm a pirate, not a kid; I would never give my beauty a name that horrid."

"Then what's the name of your ship?" Mulan asked.

Hook didn't respond when the ship came to shore. Mulan boarded first, followed by Aurora and Snow, with Hook bringing up the rear. Mulan watched as Hook took in the sight of his ship. Wow, he must really miss this thing, Mulan watched him.

"She's a beauty, isn't she," Hook gazed at his most prized possession.

"Yeah, she is," Emma took in the sight. "I'm going to sit down."

Mulan walked over and gave Emma a hand. "Be careful," she told Emma, "it's your first time walking ever since your injury."

Mulan winced as Emma kept a death grip on Mulan's right arm. Slowly, but steadily, Mulan lead Emma to a seaside bench.

"Thank you, Mulan," Emma said gratefully.

Mulan smiled for once. "Thank you for not removing my arm."

They both laughed, while Snow and Aurora joined them. Hook walked to the wheel and set sail. Mulan let the wind come over her face as the ship made its way to the castle.

"Hook," Mulan turned to him, "you never answered the question."

"What question?" Hook said as he focused on the waters ahead of him.

"What's the name of your ship?" Mulan asked again.

She watched as the same look of sadness came over his face, as if he were remembering a distant memory.

"Her name…her name is Alice."


	8. No Faith, No Trust, No Pixie Dust

Chapter 8: No Faith, No Trust, No Pixie Dust

Emma:  
"How long have we been sailing?" Emma asked out loud.

"Five hours, love," Hook said.

She'd just woken up from her nap on the bench. She sat up, still feeling the trauma, and looked around. She looked across the sea and saw the small outline of a ruined castle. She walked over to the main deck and squints her eyes once more. We're going back home, she thought.

"I've been out for five hours?" she asked surprised.

"Yeah, are you feeling alright?" Snow White asked.

"Still a little trauma, but I can walk now," Emma reassured her.

"Good. So, we decided you and I are sharing a cabin so Snow can watch over Aurora," Mulan told her.

"I'm going to go check on Aurora," Snow called from across the ship.

Snow walked off when Hook walked over. "So, is the princess ready to talk?"

"Hook, you can't just leave the wheel unattended!" Mulan cried.

"Relax, it's my ship. I know what I'm doing," Hook smirked.

Mulan still didn't trust him, so she rushed to the wheel for safety.

"What do you mean, I'm ready to talk?" Emma turned to Hook.

"Well, it seems, love, as if you can't take your eyes off that castle. You're looking at it more than you normally look at me," Hook eyed her with a smile.

Emma glared. "I do not stare at you…and what would you do if you saw your home destroyed and left in ruins?"

"Which home of mine are you talking about?"

"You really don't have any sincerity for anyone else but yourself, do you?" Emma looked at him incredulously. "How would you feel if you saw something that reminded you of people you love, of people that you truly miss being with. How would you feel if you had that feeling in your heart, knowing that you may never see your family again?"

Killian:

One of the things he loved about Emma was the fact that she had unlimited determination; it made her even more beautiful than she already was. He could tell that she still didn't trust him, but he kept trying.

"I've lost my family, Swan," he looked at her, no longer smiling. Whenever the subject of family came up, it was a touchy subject. He never talked to anyone about family. Maybe, though, if he told Emma…no, another time, he told himself.

"Then you should know exactly how I feel," Emma was looking back at the castle now, the volume of her voice decreasing drastically. Killian knew talking about her family was a different subject for her too. He grabbed her wrist. "Emma, you'll get home."  
She turned so that he felt her hazel eyes buried in his. "I hope so."

She walked a few steps to get to Mulan, but Hook brought her back. "Emma, you still don't trust me, do you?"

She sighed. "You really don't know anything about me, Hook."

"Then let me in, open up. You have to trust me," he used his hook to bring her chin up. "Look at me, Emma. Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid," she said with denial.

"Yes you are. You need to know that you don't need to do everything by yourself. I'm here, by your side, always."  
She stepped back from him. "Not now, Hook."

Killian stepped forward and brought her close. "If not now, when? If not here, then where?"

"The thing is, Hook, whenever I trust someone," she said as he took hold of her hand, "they leave. They stay long enough to get what they want. How do you recover from that if it's happened multiple times?"

Hook looked deep into her eyes, bringing his face within centimeters of hers. "Let me see the compass. I want to show you something."

Emma brought out the compass from her pocket and placed it in Killian's hand; she let her hand rest in Killian's. "Love," he smiled, "you're going to have to let go of it at some point."

"What if -," she began.

"No 'what ifs.' It's called trust," he told her. She looked deep into his eyes and let go of the compass.

He put a little bit of space between their bodies and took the compass. He looped the compass chain around his neck.

"I know you may take this a little too much, Emma Swan, but the compass works differently for each person. For a pirate, it point's to the heart's true desire."

He looped his hook on Emma's wrist; he used his hand to place the compass flat on his palm so Emma could also see. They both looked down, and Killian smiled when the needle pointed to Emma.

"Emma, let me in. Take your walls down. You can trust me," he used his hook to lift her chin.

For a moment, Emma held her breath, not knowing what to say. She stared into his eyes before once again stepping back. "I can't…it's hard to trust again when you've seen someone betray you, and to see someone die in your arms. I've my dose of heartbreaks."

"Emma, I know how you feel," Killian told her.

"No you don't."

"Milah died in my arms; I was forced to watch, with my own eyes, as Rumplestiltskin crushed her heart. I watched her take her last breath. I've had my family taken away from me. You still have a chance to get everything back, I don't."

He'd said enough. Killian removed the compass from his neck and placed it back in Emma's hands. "All you have to do is trust, trust me, Emma."

Before he left, Emma reached out. "Why did you name this ship, _Alice_?"

He smiled and walked away from the main deck, to the captain's quarters, leaving Emma to wonder.

Emma:

"Can you trust him?" Mulan asked at the wheel.

"I don't know. One moment, he's asking about home, the next he's telling me that I need to take my walls down," Emma looked at her; she neglected to tell Mulan about the compass.

"Maybe he's right because he makes a point you know."

"What? Are you taking sides with him now?" Emma asked, exasperated.

"No, all I'm saying is, maybe it doesn't hurt to trust. I mean, clearly he's on our side now."

Emma was indecisive about the idea. Hook had just opened up about the fact that he lost everything that mattered to him. He was able to trust her, why couldn't she trust him? She was about to open up to him about Neal and Graham, but she held back, afraid of making a mistake.

"It's okay to make mistakes, Emma," Mulan told her, as if Mulan read her mind.

"Yeah, I try to believe that," Emma laughed.

Mulan turned her head as she saw Snow approaching the wheel. "Could I take watch for a little bit?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Mulan looked puzzled. "What about Aurora?"

"She's awake. As a matter of fact, would you mind keeping her company?"

Mulan nodded and left.

"I assume you want to talk to me," Emma said to Snow.

"Actually, no, I don't," Snow said with a counterpoint. "Go get some rest; it'll take a while for your concussion to heal."

Emma looked suspiciously at her mother, but walked away anyway. She turned around, but bumped into someone.

"Well, love, if you want me, just let me know," Hook winked.

She pushed him away and resumed walking to the cabins. Before she left though, she looked back and saw with confusion as Snow and Hook were having a conversation.

Should I go back, Emma thought to herself. No…it's not worth it.


	9. Alice

Chapter 9: Alice

Emma:

She looked down the hall and saw a number of doors. Which door am I supposed to open, she asked herself. She started with the door to the furthest door to the left. Just from the outside, it looked so much fancier than all of the other cabin doors. With the solid mahogany wood compared to the rusted oak doors, the door had gold linings, but it's not the door that pushed her onward; to the right, a golden plate read "Killian Jones, Captain."

So, this is Hook's personal space, she read…why not take a peek? There's nothing wrong with that right?

She pushed the door open carefully, releasing a low creak from the hinges. Quickly, she whipped her head around to make sure that no one heard. She took a step into the room and scanned it. What the fuck, she thought, this definitely is not a captain's cabin. The bed was a statement, with the same mahogany wood that made the frame, with golden colored sheets and feather fluff pillows, king sized. The only other object that stood out was the treasure chest that sat at the foot of the bed. Emma stared at it, but found a lock. Dammit, she thought. She gave it a shot anyway.

She walked up and tried to pry the lid open, and surprisingly, it did. It wasn't gold she found, but clothes. Where's all the treasure?

She took one more scan of the room and found a simple desk, with a chair, a lamp, a quill, and a piece of paper lying on the center of the desk. Yeah, Hook, you have only one piece of paper to write on, smart much?

She took three strides and picked up the paper. No, it wasn't a paper. It was a picture. What the hell, she wondered. Who is this…?

Emma brought the picture closer so she could get a better look. This can't be Milah, she's too young, she continued to examine.

It was a picture of a little girl: dirty-blond hair that was kept out of her face with a simple black bow. Her hair flowed to the middle of her back. Her deep blue eyes matched Killian's and she had the same sly grin on her face, but there was also an aura of curiosity in her eyes. Her blue dress emphasized the color of her eyes. Emma looked and noticed the background. It looked as if it were in a forest, there was a lot of surrounding grass and trees…there was a manor to the left side of the little girl. She turned it over and saw words written on the back.

"Dearest Killian," it read. "I miss you. I've been longing to see you because it's been too long. Come find me soon if you wish to see me for the last time…"

The rest of the words were smudged out with finger prints. Emma turned the picture back so it was facing up. She looks familiar, Emma tried so hard to think of the girl's name, but she just couldn't put a finger on it.

"Emma Swan just couldn't resist, could you, love?" Emma jumped as she heard Hook's voice in the doorway.

"Hook, I –I –I'm…I'm sorry," Emma said, still in shock from hearing him.

"You did know this was the Captain's quarters, why did you bother coming in?" Emma saw that Hook was clearly upset.

"I –I don't know," she continued to stutter, though.

"Never, ever, look through my possessions again, unless I've given you permission," he warned her.

Emma was about to place the picture back on the table, but she continued to hold it. "Hook," she turned to him. She'd revealed some things about herself, now it was his turn. "Who is this girl?"

A look of sadness, sorrow, devastation showed on his face. She could tell she'd just asked something personal because she watched, feeling bad, as he turned back around and began to walk away.

"KILLIAN JONES, YOU LOOK AT ME RIGHT NOW!" Emma yelled. She lowered her voice. "I'm sorry, but I've told you a little about my life, and now it's your turn. You told me to trust you, and guess what, maybe I do. So, you can trust me too."

Hook walked back into the room and took the picture from Emma's hold. He held it up next to his face so that Emma could see it clearly. He pointed a finger to the girl. Emma listened as he said the next words, and the next words took a while for Emma to register as she couldn't believe anything that was said.

"Emma Swan," Killian looked at her, making sure she could hear and feel the pain in voice.

"This is my little sister, Alice."

Killian:

He'd never told anyone the story, except for Milah. It hurt so much to bring back the memories of Alice. He took a seat in the desk chair while Emma leaned on the wall, arms crossed. I guess I'm telling the princess too, Killian thought, but how do I start?

"Alice," Emma said surprised. "I can see the resemblance."

"Don't be so modest, love," Killian continued to stare at the picture.

"No, really, her eyes look just like yours. She has the same look on her face, as if she's always up to trouble. She reminds me of you," Killian looked over and heard her laugh quietly. He couldn't help but smile himself. It was the first time he'd heard someone say the two siblings looked alike.

"She was my best friend," Killian turned to Emma.

"So…what happened?" she asked, "if you don't mind me asking."

"I must say, love, I do enjoy telling you my stories because you actually take the time to listen."

"It's what I do," Emma returned a caring smile.

"Alright then, princess. Here's what happened."

Killian took a deep breath and told Emma pretty much his life story.

"Alice and I were born here, in this land. King Leopold had just risen to the throne, but your mother wasn't born yet. His original wife was still alive and Regina was still unknown to the family.

"Our father was Leopold's personal assistant; our mother was a palace messenger, the only female one. We lived in the manor that was about a quarter of a mile away from the palace itself."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Emma interrupted. "You knew my grandfather? How old are you?"

"We'll get to that, love," Killian smiled. "Let me continue."  
And so, he continued:  
"Every day, Alice and I would play in the yard; you see, our yard stretched for about one mile, so we pretty much had a section of the forest blocked off for us. Well, there was this section of the yard that was blocked off. I remember, father always said 'if you go there, King Leopold will have to take away your play area and you'll never see this house again.' It took so much for Alice and I to keep ourselves away from the area.

"Spring had just begun and Alice and I were home alone. Father was away with Leopold at another kingdom and mother had gone overseas on royal business. Alice told me, 'Killian, let's go out and play!' So, being the older brother, I swore to myself that I'd watch her and protect her."

Killian looked down, not wanting Emma to see the tears forming in his eyes.

"Alice was always the curious and the more imaginative one between the both of us. She told me, 'mother and father aren't home, so they won't know that we went to the forbidden area.' I tried to stop her, but she couldn't resist. 'Killian, there's a white rabbit, over there!' I looked over to where she pointed, and I saw the rabbit she was looking at, but there was something off about the rabbit, so I told her to leave it alone. Of course, she didn't listen, and ran after it, chasing it. I ran after her and saw that she'd reached the area that we'd never seen before. There was a marble white gazebo in front of us. She was standing inside of it, staring down at the middle. I ran to her so I could see what she was staring at…There was a hole, but it was covered by wood. I tried pulling her back, but once again, she resisted. She pried at the wooden cover, but it wouldn't open. I asked why she was trying to open the wooden cover, and she told me 'the white rabbit went down the hole!' I honestly don't know why she wanted the white rabbit so much, but I tried three times to take her back to the manor, but she kept going at the cover. Finally, it was the first time I'd gotten angry with her, so I had to reach over to pull her from the ground, but…the wooden cover opened."

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He began to speak, when Emma came over and held his hand for support. She could tell that he was having a hard time telling the story. "Hook, if you don't want to continue, I'm not forcing you to."

He wanted to stop talking, but he wanted to keep talking. Milah interrupted and made fun of Killian when he choked up, but Emma cared because she knew what it was like to lose a family member. So, Killian continued.

"I don't know what happened next, honestly. One moment I was holding on to her, the next she was falling down the hole…she must've let go of me for some reason, but it was the last time I saw her."

"I thought you said the wooden cover was stuck. Was there a lock on it?"

"No, I still don't understand to this day how it opened up. But, I sat there for the rest of the day, waiting for her to come back, but she never came. It was so hard to me to walk back to the manor that night. I had to tell my parents that she'd run away because I knew if they found out that we'd gone to the forbidden area, my family would've been banned from the castle grounds. Mother and father were devastated; Leopold sent out a search party, but she was never found.

"I was fifteen when I asked my parents. I asked what was hidden in the forbidden area. I ran away about three hours after they told me."

"That's why you named the ship _Alice_," Emma said, still holding Killian's hand.

He nodded. He held up the picture. "Alice always kept this picture with her. She ripped off the other side, which was a picture of me; our parents took the picture in the front yard. It was the last picture our parents took of the two of us. I found it on my bedroom desk the day I left home. It's the only picture I have of her; she has the other half."

"So, where did she go? Did the hole lead to some other place?" Killian could tell by the look in Emma's eyes that she'd already discovered the truth.

"Wonderland."


	10. Wonderland

Chapter 10: Wonderland

Emma:

Alice, that's who the little girl was…_the _Alice from Wonderland.

Holy shit, Emma thought. This can't be real…this is not happening.

"So," Emma took the risk to ask, "is she still in Wonderland?"

"I never said I was finished, love," Killian smiled.

"So, continue then," Emma responded.

And so, he continued:  
"When I found the picture and when I found out she was in Wonderland, I set off to find her. I mean, I went back to the hole she fell through, but it was gone. The gazebo was still there though. It took me years to find a way to Wonderland. It took me…ten years I believe to find a way. You see, love, I met this man, Jefferson. He had this hat that was like a portal to different worlds. He gave me the opportunity to see Alice."

"Jefferson…" Emma gasped in realization.

"You know the lad?" Hook raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I do actually," Emma nodded, "but please, continue."

"So, I made it to Wonderland, with Jefferson. I searched for a year for her, but I could never find her. Jefferson took me back here to this land and that was the last I saw of him."

"You're saying that Jefferson just disappeared after he took you back?" Emma asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, but it was before the Dark Curse was enacted," Hook told her.

"So, when does Milah come into play?"

"After Jefferson left, I travelled to Neverland with the use of a magic beans. I don't know how long I stayed there, but in your time, I imagine it was…fifty years? Your mother was already in her teens. But, when I came back, that's when I met Milah in the tavern. And you already know what happens from there."

"Okay, let me get this straight," Emma looked at him. "You met Jefferson and travelled to Wonderland with him. You stayed there for a year, came back, and then made your way to Neverland with a magic bean. You didn't age and stayed there for about fifty years, and then you came back."

"Correct," Hook said.

"You stayed in Wonderland for a whole year, and you didn't discover anything?"

"Sadly, no," Hook hung his head.

"Hook, you're lying," Emma could tell he was lying.

"Maybe, but not everything needs to be said, love," Hook looked at him.

Emma looked into Hook's eyes and she could tell that it truly took a lot of courage for him to tell her this. Wow, he's pretty brave, he really does trust me, Emma thought. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He'd lost his family; he'd lost the only woman he loved. She couldn't look away from him.

"Emma," Hook stood up and faced her. "I just told you something that I've never shared, except with Milah. Why? I trust you."

He took hold of Emma's face, and brushed a strand of her hair off her shoulder. "Do you trust me now?"

Emma saw the pain in his eyes; she recognized it so much because she'd worn the same look on her face before. Maybe they were more alike than Emma thought. Both had lost family; both lost people they loved; both were determined when it came to accomplishing something. She actually felt sorry for him. She wanted so badly for him to feel better. She closed the distance between them and felt his breath sweep across her lips. "Emma"

He leaned in and sealed the deal. Emma caught her breath when his soft lips met hers. He was passionate with Emma, letter her lead. He walked her back into the wall and trapped her in his arms. She broke off first and looked into his deep blue eyes once more.

"Love, you don't need to be so soft, but, you're not too bad of a kisser," he smirked.

"You're not so bad yourself, Captain," she smiled back.

They stood there smiling, taking in the moment.

But, she ruined the moment, realizing her mistake. Emma knew she just couldn't trust him yet. "Hook, I –I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, love?" he just couldn't stay away from her lips.

"I –I have to go," she looked down and found her way out of his arms. She started walking to the door before she turned around. She took one look at him.

"Emma, you don't have to go," Hook told her.

Emma's walls were coming back up. "Fuck, not now, Hook."

She walked out the door and left Hook in silence.


	11. Nightmare

Chapter 11: Nightmare

Emma:

Emma closed the door behind her and looked down the hall of cabin doors. Which one am I supposed to go to, Emma asked herself.

She walked down the open hall and pushed every door open; she didn't find a single person. But, she got to the last door of the hall and turned around. She could tell that is was directly across from Hook's. She pushed the door open and found Mulan fast asleep in a twin-sized bed on the far left side of the room. She looked back at Hook's door that was all the way on the other side. Mulan must've picked this one so she could keep an eye on him, Emma thought. Smart.

She couldn't help but think about what had happened with Hook: his childhood, Alice, the kiss. She was the one that kissed him, and he just happened to kiss back. Why did she do it? There's no way…no, Emma told herself. No, I'm not falling for him, and I never will. Princesses and pirates don't go together.

She stepped quietly in the room and found that there was an empty bed in front of her. The moment she looked at the bed, it registered to her how exhausted she was, even if she'd been awake for only a few hours. It must've been around five in the afternoon; it wouldn't hurt to take a nap, Emma thought. She climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her.

Killian:

He couldn't get his thoughts away from Emma. Hot damn, he thought, she was one hell of a kisser. She kissed me first, so I didn't do anything wrong. She brought it all onto herself.

Killian went to his bed and sat down. He'd told her almost everything about his life. Some of the things he'd said weren't even mentioned to Milah. Something about Emma caused Killian to trust her in an instant, but he didn't know what. Was it because she knew exactly how he felt? She knew what it felt like to lose someone so close to your heart. The mention of Alice made his heart ache. He hadn't seen his sister in so long; he was staring at the words on the back of the picture in his hand. Killian wished he hadn't smudged the rest of the note, even if the words were the most painful part of the picture.

He laid the picture down on the bedside table. He hadn't slept in over twenty four hours, so he lied down in his bed and fell asleep within seconds.

Emma:

_She opened her eyes and saw herself in Storybrooke. Emma was standing in her apartment. She looked over and saw Henry sitting on her couch, reading his book of fairytales. Emma walked over and looked over his shoulder._

_ "What are you reading, Henry?" she asked._

_ He looked up and smiled. "It's Peter Pan, mom!" _

_ She smiled when she saw the familiar face of Captain Hook on the page. "Who's your favorite character?" _

_ "Captain Hook!" _

_ Emma couldn't help but smile and laugh. She loved it when Henry was happy._

_ The conversation continued for some time as Henry continued to flip the pages of the story. He reached the last page and his smile faded. "This isn't right. She's not a part of this story. Mom, who is this?"_

_ Emma led her eyes to the place where Henry's finger pointed. She looked closely, and realizing who it was, backed away on instinct. She found herself looking into the fiery eyes of Cora._

_ "Henry, why don't we put the book away now?" Emma reached over and closed the book. _

_ "Who was that lady?" _

_ "Don't worry about it Henry. You'll never see her again."_

_ "I wouldn't be so sure of that," a voice maliciously laughed from across the room._

_ Both Emma and Henry's head shot up. There was Cora, in the living flesh, standing in Emma's apartment. Emma instinctively picked up Henry and placed him behind her, protecting him. Henry stayed close to his mother._

_ "What are you doing here?" Emma said, with a hint of fear in her voice._

_ "Relax, Emma. I just want to meet your son," Cora smiled._

_ "Keep your fucking hands to yourself, bitch," Emma snarled._

_ Cora gave Emma a cold stare. If stares could destroy people, Cora would've incinerated Emma on the spot. "You might want to watch what you're saying; don't forget that I can kill you at any time."_

_ Cora magically reappeared within one foot of Emma. "Now, if you'd let me meet your son."_

_ "Why do you want to meet him?" Emma tightened her hold on Henry as Henry got closer to his mother."_

_ "I just want to meet my daughter's son."  
"He's my son, not Regina's." _

_ Cora didn't have any patience left._

_ She used her magic and threw Emma to the floor, causing blood to ooze from her head. Emma's vision began to blur as she felt pain in her head. She looked up as Cora advanced to Henry. Henry slowly backed away, but Regina's magic kept him in place. Emma tried so much to reach her son, but Regina's magic also kept Emma in place. _

_ "You must be Henry," Cora was smiling now. "You're the one that's been distracting my daughter." _

_ Henry whimpered and tried to move to his mother. Emma looked Cora began to do the unimaginable. _

_ "No!" Emma cried. She fought Cora's magic and slowly, but desperately, made her way too Henry. Too late. Cora plunged her hand into Henry's chest and grabbed his heart. Henry gasped in pain as his skin began to pale, and he struggled to catch his breath. He looked over and stared into his mother's eyes. Emma began to bawl as her son's eyes burned into hers. Cora ripped Henry's heart from his body and held it in her hand. She stared at it, triumphant, while Henry crumbled to the floor. Emma was within two feet of Henry, but still too far. Cora laughed as she watched Emma struggle. Henry reached his arm out in attempt to grab his mother's hand. Cora had had enough and she squeezed the heart in her hand. Emma cried as she watched the most important thing in her life gasp with pain. Henry felt the burden inside of him, as his heart was being reduced to dust. He made one last effort._

_ "Mom, don't forget about me," he barely whispered._

_ Cora crushed the remains of the heart. Henry stopped struggling and lay there, motionless. Emma's couldn't do anything but cry. Cora removed her magic from Emma; Emma rushed over to Henry and cradled him in her arms. She let her tears fall onto his expressionless face. _

_ "I love you so much," Emma whispered through her endless tears. She bent over and kissed Henry's forehead. "I love you so much." _

_ The room began to dissolve, but Cora's laughter rang through Emma's ears…_

"Emma! Wake up!" Emma's eyes flew open and realized she was still on the ship.

Killian:

_He looked around and found himself standing in a field of grass with a path paved before him. He walked forward, following the path._

_ Why am I here, he asked himself. _

_ Wonderland hadn't changed since the last time he'd been there. Before long, the Queen's castle came into view, but the maze had been waiting for him._

_ I need Jefferson, he thought. He knew how to figure this thing out. _

_ Reluctantly, Killian walked into the maze, ready to make his way through it. It wasn't long before he reached the first obstacle. He couldn't decide which way to go –left or right. Was it left, or was it right? Killian made his choice and went left. _

_ He heard footsteps coming from behind, so he walked faster. But, the footsteps were coming, fast, so Killian broke into a run. He wove his way throughout the maze at record speed, but the footsteps just kept coming. He'd run out of steam as he began to slow down. Eventually he stopped, ready to face his follower. He was about to turn around but his follower spoke first._

_ "Killian, it's me, Alice," the person spoke._

_ He slowly turned around and saw that she'd told the truth. He blinked three times to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. She was standing there, in front of him. She really was there._

_ "Alice," Killian smiled from ear to ear and rushed forward to hug his sister. He gladly embraced her with a bear hug. They stood there, letting the emotion flood over as the two reunited after so many years. _

_ "Alice, you look like you're still a few years younger than me," Killian examined her face. "You should be older. How are you so young still?"  
"The queen let me go to Neverland with Jefferson," Alice sighed, smiling. "I looked for you." _

_ Killian held his sister's hands. "How long were you there?" _

_ "The fairies told me you'd just left with another woman, so I waited for your return. Jefferson stayed with me the entire time." _

_ He'd hated the man. "All that matters is that you're here now." _

_ "I know," Alice smiled. "I don't have much time, Killian." _

_ "Why, what's wrong?" _

_ "If the queen finds out that I'm not in the castle, I'll be punished." _

_ "Alice, you've got to escape." _

_ "I can't, and you know why," she looked down._

_ "Yes, you can. Come with me. We'll go back home." _

_ "I'm afraid I can't let that happen, Hook," a voice said._

_ Both Killian and Alice turned around. "What are you doing here?" _

_ Jefferson laughed. "Please, the queen sent me to get Alice." _

_ "You're mad," Killian stepped in front of Alice. He drew his sword. _

_ "No, I came with him," another voice said. _

_ Alice looked behind her and saw the Queen of Hearts. Killian didn't know who to attack first. He went for Jefferson because he was the closest. _

_ But, before anything happened, he found himself immobilized. "Alice, don't forget, you can't escape," the Queen smiled._

_ Alice gave her a look of fury. When Alice was mad, anyone could tell she was related to Killian because both had the same look of anger in their eyes. When both were angry, it was as if an entire world war began…Alice quickly grabbed Killian's sword and faced the Queen. _

_ "Let him go, and I'll go back to your castle," Alice said, furious. _

_ "Now, now," the Queen put her hands up. The sword easily came out of Alice's hand and soared over to Jefferson's hand. _

_ "Why are you doing this to me? You already took my daughter from me!" Alice cried. "I've suffered enough!"  
"No, you took the most precious thing in my life, and now, my king is gone because of you, you wretched bitch!" the Queen roared back._

_ "You know very well that wasn't my fault!" _

_ "Yes, it was! If it weren't for you and your worthless daughter, my husband would still be here!" _

_ "Your highness, please," Jefferson said. _

_ "Shut up!" the Queen yelled at him. Her magic held Alice in place as she walked right past her. She took the sword from Jefferson and tossed it between both her hands, examining it. _

_ "Your brother sure does know how to find the perfect sword," she laughed._

_ "What are you doing?" Alice asked cautiously._

_ "You deserve to suffer more, dear," the Queen smirked. _

_ "Your majesty, you don't need to do this, please," Jefferson pleaded._

_ "Please, stop having pity for her," the Queen looked at him. "You just had to pick her, Jefferson." _

_ "No! Don't!" Alice cried. Killian was finally able to move again and made the attempt to move to Alice. But, the pain dispersed throughout his entire body as the Queen pierced his own sword into his chest. He lost his breath as the Queen twisted the sword into his heart. He led his blue eyes into Alice's eyes. His last images were of his beloved little sister. Killian watched in pain as his little sister raced to him, taking him into his arms. The Queen ripped the sword from him and let the blood poor out. Killian's vision of Alice began to fade, as he saw death coming over him…_

Killian jerked awake and immediately sat up in his bed. He hadn't had a nightmare in ages. At the same time, there had been a painful sensation burning in his chest. He looked down and saw little drops of blood stained on the left side of his shirt.


	12. The Warrior

Chapter 12: The Warrior

Emma:

She sat up in her bed and looked around. I'm still on the ship, she thought to herself. Emma realized that Snow was grasping her shoulders, holding her in place.

"What? Why –why are you in here?" Emma asked Snow.

"I came in to check on you and I found you in this mess, and you were crying, and saying Henry's name, and…what happened?" Snow was panicking.

"I –I had a nightmare. But, I haven't had one in ages."  
"What happened in the nightmare?"

"Cora. She killed Henry. She ripped his heart out," Emma continued to describe the rest of the nightmare to her mother.

"Well, I don't have a candle with me, so, do you want to go outside, to get some fresh air?" Snow asked.

"Yeah, but, the dream, it seemed so real. It was as if it really happened," Emma looked down.

"Come on, Emma," Snow desperately wanted to change the subject. "Let's get you outside. Mulan is at the wheel, so you can go with her."  
Emma nodded and followed her mother outside. It registered to her after a few seconds that it was night time. She looked up in the sky and gasped. There were more stars in Fairytale Land than there were in the entire universe. The stars lit the night, not the moon. It was a sight to take in, and Emma never wanted to take her eyes off the sky. There was one particular star in the sky that shined brighter than all the others. It seemed to call to her.

"It's beautiful, isn't it," Snow stood with her, smiling. "Your nursery had a balcony, you know. Whenever you stood outside, this was your view. We knew you would like it when you'd grow up."

"It's amazing, I've never seen anything like it," Emma agreed.

"Every night, before the Dark Curse was enacted, your father and I would go outside, and we'd stargaze for hours. There are constellations in the other world, kind of like the constellations here, in this land."

"Tell me about them," Emma begged her mother.

"Later, when the time is right," Snow reassured her. "I'm going to go and check up on Aurora. Mulan's right over there."

Emma nodded and watched Snow walk away. She made her way over to Mulan. "How long have you been out here?"

Mulan looked at her. "I came out here when the sun began to set. It's my favorite part of the day."

"Really, and why is that?" Emma asked.

"You're making fun of me, aren't you," Mulan smiled back.

"No, I'm not. I'm just curious," Emma laughed.

"Well, if you say so," Emma listened as Mulan began her story.

Mulan:

"I was born in a faraway land; my home is within this realm, but nowhere near. My parents were poor, and my grandmother lived with us. I grew up with this pet dragon, I named him Mushu."

"This all sounds really familiar," Emma nodded. "Let me guess, you went off to war and you met a warrior and you fell in love with him."

"How did you know that?" Mulan wondered.

"You see," she listened to Emma. "You're supposed to be a fairytale character in my world. You aren't supposed to exist…yet, here you are."

Mulan smiled. "Well, I'll tell you my version of it then."

And so, Mulan continued.

"My father was enlisted to the war. He went and was gone for a whole year…I still remember the day I first met Shang. He knocked on the door to tell us…he said –it was the day he told us that my father had died in the war. In my world, it was forbidden for a woman to fight, but I did so anyway. I left with Shang within the next hour, yet, I didn't know that I wouldn't see my mother or my grandmother for the next year.

"I trained endlessly; I wanted to prove to all the other men that I could fight, that I was better than I looked. Shang looked down upon me at first, but eventually, we became friends, and eventually, we married. We won the war, against the Huns, even though we lost some of the soldiers along the way. It was painful, but bearable.

"After the war, I came home with Shang, and that's when I found out I was pregnant," Mulan looked away, not wanting Emma to see the forming tears.

"What happened with the baby?" Emma whispered quietly.

"The baby was born nearly a year later in the house than Shang and I moved into. He'd been only a few weeks old when it happened. Shang and I were sleeping when we heard the noise. There was a crash in the nursery across the hall, and Shang woke first before waking me. I remember running and breaking the door open," Mulan caught her breath.

"We looked in the crib and our son was gone. There was a pool of blood in the spot where he lay. Shang organized a search party and it went on for three months, but we gave up," Mulan was crying now.

Mulan felt Emma's hand on her shoulder. "The week after the search party ended, we met him, Rumplestiltskin. He was there, with our son. I tried to get him back, but I never got the chance. Shang, he…he died in the fight with Rumplestiltskin. The man ripped Shang's heart first and I was forced to watch him die. I'd had enough and I grabbed the closest sword and fought Rumplestiltskin myself," Mulan gritted her teeth.

"He used his magic and threw me to the floor each time I got up to fight. I had no energy left and I remember, he asked me, 'How much do you love your son?' I told him that my child was the most important thing in my life, but he didn't care, that monster. He gave my son back to me, but before he let go, he ripped his heart too. It pained me to see my son die in my arms. It was already hard to watch my husband die, let alone my only son," Mulan said through her tears.

She heard Emma ask her, "What was his name?"

"I named him after his father," Mulan looked down to her feet.

Emma:

Emma realized her life sucked at the moment, but Mulan and Hook were far worse than her. They both lost the most important people in their life. In fact, Mulan had to watch Rumplestiltskin kill her entire family.

Emma hugged Mulan and let her cry in her arms. She stroked Mulan's hair in comfort.

"Why don't you go inside with Snow and Aurora," Emma suggested.

"Will you be alright by yourself?" Mulan asked.

"I know how to take care of myself," Emma smiled and reassured.

"Alright then," Mulan gave Emma one last look and squeezed her hand. "Thank you, for listening."

She smiled and Emma watched as she walked into Snow and Aurora's cabin.

Emma looked at the wheel and decided that she'd wanted to try to navigate the ship. She took hold of the wheel. The moment she held the device in her hand, she knew it felt natural to her, as if she'd done it plenty of times. She looked beyond the horizon and realized that the castle was coming closer. I'm almost home, Henry, she smiled.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. "Emma, why don't you let me steer."

Snow came back to be with Emma. She told her, "You just can't take your eyes off the view, so why don't you go enjoy it."

Emma smiled and hugged Snow. "Thank you, Mom."

Emma walked over to the main deck and stood as close as she possibly could to the rail. The wind picked up a little and she felt it wash over her face. Emma breathed in the air and looked up at the sky. The brightest star was still shining over them.

She didn't hear anything because she was so lost in her thoughts.

"It's a beauty isn't it," she heard his husky voice in her ear.


	13. Written in the Stars

Chapter 13: Written in the Stars

Emma:

She was so surprised, she jumped, yet she jumped forward a bit, enough to make her lose her balance, directing her over the rail, but Hook caught her in time. She felt his arms wind around her waist to prevent her from plunging into the water.

Admit it Emma, her conscience told her, you like it when he does that.

She held her breath for a moment as Hook pulled her up. She didn't look at him when she spoke. "Thank you."

"Don't worry love, you aren't the first to do that," he smirked.

She had to admit, she didn't mind at all when Hook called her "love" or "princess," and she loved the feel of his touch on her skin, and the way he looked at her, and the way he listened to her when she talked, and all of the above.

Stop, Emma, she said to herself as she regained her thoughts.

She looked back up at the sky, thinking about what would happen when they reached the castle. She felt Hook's presence behind her as he held onto the rail, trapping her in his arms. Emma knew he wouldn't give up, so she relaxed and just enjoyed the moment. She didn't realize it, but Hook was also looking at the same star as Emma.

"I haven't seen these many stars in a while," Hook told her.

"It's amazing; I've never seen anything like it," she responded to him sincerely.

They both let their eyes linger for a while on the stars, with Emma, resting in the arms of the pirate.

"Why is that star brighter than the most?" she broke the silence, pointing to the star on the right that called out to her.

"That, love, is Neverland, my second home," Emma could tell than Hook was smiling.

"Neverland…did I ever tell you that Peter Pan was my favorite fairytale when I grew up?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Swan," Hook laughed.

"In my world, you're a fairytale character, just like Aurora and Mulan, yet here you are, real in the flesh, with your arms around me," Emma returned the laugh light-heartedly.

Hook whispered in her ear, teasingly. "Don't deny that you love it."

No, Emma, don't fall for it. "I've always wanted to go to Neverland."

Too late, she fell for it. "Well, it seems as if I'll have to take you one day."

Emma smiled and took her eyes off the sky for once and turned to face Hook. "One day, Killian Jones."

"One day, Emma Swan," he never took his eyes off of hers.

For once in her life, Emma lived in the perfect moment, the one moment she never wanted to forget. She watched as Killian momentarily stared at her lips, and put both hands on either side of her waist. He looked deeply into her eyes and pulled her in closer. Emma felt her hands on either side of his face as he leaned in. He kissed her passionately, leaving his lips to linger on hers for a while; he kissed her in a way that made Emma understand that he wanted her.

So, the lion and the lamb, the pirate and the princess, stood under the curtain of stars, and lived in the moment would last an eternity.

Snow White:  
She watched as her daughter and the pirate approached her, walking closely together, touching shoulders. It was about time she'd told her daughter; she even discussed it with Hook. I just hope she won't have a bad reaction when I tell her, Snow took a deep breath.

She smiled to the couple as they approached. "Hey, Emma, are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, a lot better actually," she saw her daughter smile. Yeah, she could tell that Emma was falling for the pretty boy next to her.

"What happened?" Hook looked at her curiously.

"It's nothing, just a simple nightmare," Emma reassured him, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Well, I'm glad you feel better," Snow nodded to her daughter. She didn't know if she was ready to tell her, but she risked it anyway. "Emma, there's something we have to talk about. Hook and I –sorry, Killian –talked about it earlier today."  
"Okay," Emma looked puzzled. "What did I do this time?"

"It's not –it's not something you can do," Snow began slowly. "It's something you can do. And, Killian and I just realized this yesterday when we first came onto the ship."

It was already past midnight, and they'd been traveling for almost one full day. It took them less than one day to reach a castle that was so far away from their starting point.

"And what is it you supposed I can do?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

"You see, love," Killian grasped her shoulders. "The queen and I have this idea, but we don't know if it's true."

"Don't be shocked when we tell you, okay?" Snow added.

"Just get on with it!" Emma begged.

They both looked her deep in the eyes to make sure she had their undivided attention.

"Emma," Snow told her. "Killian and I have come to the conclusion that you may be able to use magic."

Killian looked away, afraid of what her reaction would be while Snow held her ground and waited for her daughter to say something. She followed Emma's face as Emma looked down, and then looked back at Snow.

"You honestly believe I have the ability to use magic?" Emma asked slowly, just to make sure her mother understood her words. "Can you prove this?"

"Emma, when you killed one of the ogres, you had a sword with you. I know I used the same sword that you used, but I never gave you my sword because I had it with me. Where did that sword come from?" Killian provided the first argument.

Snow nodded her head in agreement. "Also, when Killian said his ship always comes to him whenever he needs it, the enchantment was taken off of the ship when the blue fairy was taken with us to Storybrooke, so there was no way Killian was the one that summoned this ship. And, don't say you were asleep when the ship came to the shore, because I know very well young lady that you were awake," and Snow provided the second argument.

Emma tried to protest, "But I -."

"Don't be stubborn with me right now, Emma," Snow stayed firm.

"How is it possible that I can even use magic? You and Da –Dad can't even use magic."

"In case you didn't know Emma, Rumplestiltskin somehow used magic and got the power of true love, if that makes any sense to you. So, that makes you the first product of true love."

A bewildered look still remained on Emma's face, with a mix of confusion, hurt, anger, negativity, etc. "Emma," Killian faced her. "Why aren't you happy about this? This is a good thing."

"Exactly," Snow agreed. "You realize you may be the key to defeating Cora, right?"

Emma took a good, hard look at both of them. "I may be able to use magic, but I don't even know how to control it. I may end up hurting someone just because of the fact of not being able to use it properly. And, I'm not even strong enough to beat Cora. I just –I just can't believe you didn't tell me earlier."

Snow watched in pain as her daughter walked away in anger. She watched as her daughter walked into her own cabin, slamming the door.

Snow spoke to Killian. "Will you please check to make sure she's alright? I don't think she wants to even look at me right now."

Killian laughed. "It would be my honor."

With that said, he walked away and followed Emma's path to her cabin. Snow sighed and looked into the sky. She traced with her eyes the constellation of the prince and the princess. Charming, she felt a hot tear roll slowly down her cheek, where are you when I need you?


	14. Arrival

Chapter 14: Arrival

Killian:

He saw that the door to Emma's cabin was open just a crack. He raised his fist and decided to knock, but eventually decided against it. He slowly and quietly pushed the door open, only to see Emma sitting on her bed, with her back against the wall. He walked over and saw tears streaming down her face. She looked up at him and laughed.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this," he watched as she delicately wiped the tears off her face with her sleeve, but it was no use.

He came over and sat down next to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her. They sat in silence for a few minutes before either of them began talking.

"I can't believe you or her didn't tell me earlier," Emma sighed.

"So, why aren't you mad at me?" Killian laughed.

"At this time, I don't know that I'd be able to stay mad at you," Emma laughed.

Killian gave her a playful squeeze and kissed her forehead. "Don't be mad at your mother. She did it for her own reasons."

"Okay, so you're on her side now."

"Well, I kind of have to suck up to your parents in order to be accepted by them."

Emma bust up laughing from his comment. "Are you being serious? I'm not a teenager you know."

"Yes, but you are the daughter of a king and queen, Emma Swan," Killian wanted to point out. "In case you didn't know, pirates normally aren't in the royal portrait."

Emma gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Don't worry about them."

Killian sat in silence while simply embracing the fact that he was falling head over heels for the woman in his arms. He didn't think he'd find anyone again after Milah; he thought it was the end of the world when she died, but then Emma came along and she brought the life back into him. He looked back to her and thought she'd fallen asleep. He leaned his head onto hers and sighed.

She broke the comfortable silence. "His name was Neal."

His eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You wanted to know 'who bested me' so badly, so, his name was Neal Cassidy."

"Someone actually bested _the_ Emma Swan? Well, I can't say I'm not surprised."

She got up from the bed and stood, facing him. "I'm taking the time to trust you, so please, don't make this any worse for me, please."

Killian put his hands up in defeat, "I apologize, please, continue."

He looked at Emma and watched as Emma's face turned from frustration to bitterness. He could tell that she was having a hard time formulating an explanation as she paced back and forth across the room.

"He –I met him when I was seventeen, almost eighteen. I stole his car, or so I thought it was his car, and he ended up staying with me for almost a year, before he betrayed me."

He watched as Emma sighed in pain, but still, she continued. "I thought he was the one. I thought he truly was _the one _for me because I thought I'd fallen in love. It was hard for me because I was abandoned my entire life until about a few months ago. I was an orphaned teenager who always crossed paths with the law."

Killian felt he had the need to ask. "What do you mean by 'he betrayed you'?"

"Well," she stood in one spot, and then once again paced the floor, while looking down. "We were about to make our great escape to our now home, but what happened was he –he ratted me out for stealing something. So, I ended up in what you call a dungeon for eleven months. And, the worst part is, I had my son, Henry, in the dungeon."

She stopped once more in front of Killian. He looked and saw that she was on the verge of tears. He stood up and faced her, centimeters away from her face. He wiped a tear that slowly rolled down her cheek. He placed her face in his hands and gave her a long, well-deserved kiss. He wanted so badly to let the kiss last longer, but he pulled back and drew her into a comforting hug. He hugged her tightly as she sobbed quietly in his arms; he kissed the top of her head and made a promise.

"Emma Swan, I promise I will never leave you, nor will I ever leave you."

He watched as she brought her head up from his chest and stared into his eyes. She brought her lips close to his. He felt her breath on his lips. "Killian Jones, I trust you with that promise."

She smiled and finally rested her lips on his.

Aurora:  
She was standing outside with Mulan and Snow.

"Why are you two guiding the ship towards the shore?" she asked out loud.

"You see," Snow turned to her. "The castle is set on an island, and the only access to it is the bridge."  
"Aren't there secret passages?"

"There are, but we don't want to risk anything with Cora roaming freely."

Aurora couldn't agree more. "How far would the mouth of the bridge be by the time we reach shore?"

Snow answered. "When we reach shore, there's a path that we take and it will guide us to one of the bridge entrances. It's not one of the longer ones, so it should take us less than an hour to reach the bridge."

Aurora nodded. She walked to the wheel where Mulan was steering. She placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Mulan, for staying with me throughout all of this."

Mulan nodded and smiled. "I promised Philip I would protect you, and I intend to keep that process."

She draped her arms over Mulan's shoulders and gave her a hug, trying not to interrupt her steering. She looked out at the sea as the castle and the shore were less than 500 feet away. She kept her eyes on the castle, trying to make out what it had looked like before the curse.

Snow noticed her stare because she told Aurora, "It was the most beautiful castle. It was better than my father's castle."

"I thought this was your castle?" Aurora looked at Snow.

"This is King George's castle, my husband's father."

"Why didn't you two live in your castle?"

Snow smiled. "It's an interesting topic for discussion. Remind me to tell you about it when we get back to Storybrooke."

Aurora smiled and nodded. "I'm excited to hear about it.

Mulan gasped and pointed to the shore. "Aurora, Snow, there's someone standing on the shore."

Aurora rushed with Snow to the edge of the main deck. Aurora squinted her eyes so she could get a closer look at the human. When she got a good look at who it was, her heart fell to her stomach, and suddenly, she went numb and placed a death grip on Snow's wrist. She felt Snow jump back in slight surprise.

"Aurora, is everything alright?" Snow asked, concerned and worried.

"It's –it's," Aurora stuttered. She yelled across the deck. "How much longer until we reach the shore, Mulan?"

"About five more minutes," Mulan yelled back.

Aurora needed to get there. Her eyes had to be deceiving her because it wasn't possible.

Snow looked over, but stepped back. "You know who that is, don't you?"

"He shouldn't even be here, but that's my Prince, Prince Philip."


	15. Glitter in the Air

Chapter 15: Glitter in the Air

Snow:

She looked back to Emma's cabin and watched as Hook and Emma walked out, hand in hand. Finally my daughter's happy, Snow smiled to herself.

She returned her focus to the shore. The ship had docked and now, the group had to make the decision of who would approach first. Emma walked up behind her and asked, "What's going on?"

She looked at Emma. "Aurora says Prince Philip is waiting for her on shore."

"How is that possible?" Emma asked. "I thought he was dead."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Snow scoffed.

"That's not Philip," Hook looked at the shore and saw the person.

"What are you talking about?" Snow's expression changed to concern.

Before either of them could say anything else, Hook let go of Emma's hand and charged after Aurora, who was advancing towards the man. Snow and Emma chased after him.

"Hook!" Snow yelled from behind. "What are you doing?"

Aurora was faster than she looked, and soon enough, her four companions were advancing, trying to stop her. She was only five feet away from Philip by the time the four had just run off the ship. Snow caught up to Hook and kept up with him.

Snow asked as they were sprinting at record speed. "What do you mean 'that's not Philip?' And, don't ignore me!"

"Your majesty," Hook still laughed. "It's kind of a challenge to talk while you're trying to stop someone from getting killed."

Snow looked forward and saw that Aurora stood in front of the man. Suddenly a memory flashed through her mind. She remembered. She remembered when they first came back to the castle to the wardrobe and Lancelot had chased after them, only, it wasn't Lancelot.

"Hook, take Philip! I'll get Aurora!" she yelled over.

She saw that he'd understood. In a split decision they broke apart and went separate directions. Snow went forward to Aurora while Hook went for the side tackle on Philip. Snow went down to the sand and took Aurora with her, while Hook caught hold of Philip.

"What are you doing!" Aurora yelled to Hook as she tried to free herself from Snow's iron grip.

"That's not Philip, Aurora!" Snow kept her down.

"What are you talking about!" Aurora cried. "It is him!"

Emma and Mulan finally caught up and helped Snow by taking Aurora. Snow got up and stood in a protective stance in front of the others. She drew her bow and aimed it at Philip. Philip rolled and escaped Hook's grasp. Hook tried desperately to get a hold of the man, but Philip was too quick and planted his left foot on Hook's chest.

Emma:

She watched in horror as Killian was pinned. She rushed forward, but Snow instinctively grabbed her and stopped her.

"You're just going to let him get beat by someone we don't even know?" Emma was flustered.

"Don't worry," Philip spoke up for the first time. "I won't hurt him. I just want to see Aurora."

Snow told Emma, "Remember the incident we had with Lancelot at the castle?"

"Yeah…why?" Emma stepped back.

"Just think about it," Snow told her, then turned to Philip. "How are you here, when Philip's dead?"

Philip took his foot off of Hook and slowly approached the girls. "I'm right here, in the flesh. Tell them, Aurora."

Emma spoke. "How did you know we'd be here?"

Philip's eyes showed a fiery blaze. "Fine then, if that's how you want to play." A funnel of dark purple smoke formed around him momentarily. When the funnel was gone, Cora was left standing in his spot. Without anyone noticing, Killian quietly got up and drew his sword. He slowly approached Cora from behind, trying to anticipate her move. Killian took his sword and drilled it through the enemy.

"Go!" Hook yelled to them. "I'll hold her off!"

Emma looked at the girls. "Mulan, Aurora, start heading to the castle. Snow, take them."

Mulan nodded and grabbed Aurora by the wrist and took off toward the castle, but Snow stayed behind. "I'm not leaving without you."

Emma nodded and turned back to Cora and Killian. She watched in pain as Killian was blasted into the sand. Cora laughed and used magic to remove the sword, without a single drop of blood falling.

"Fools, you honestly think you can kill me without using magic?" Cora laughed at all of them. "Killian, I see you've changed sides."

"I chose to change sides. I chose them. I chose Emma," he growled as he backed away.

"Go and get the compass, Hook. I can get to Storybrooke faster than any of them."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Emma looked on as Killian stood up for the group. Cora walked forward and used magic to bring Killian to his feet.

"I'm giving you one last chance," Emma gasped as Cora plunged her hand into Killian's chest. "I will kill you right here, right now. I will end you, Killian Jones."

Emma watched in horror as Cora ripped his heart out. He collapsed effortless into the sand. His head rolled over and Emma saw that his deep blue eyes were searching desperately for her. Cora began to slowly squeeze his heart and watched in joy as Killian was struggling to find his breath. He reached his hand out in Emma's direction, as if he were begging her to come to the rescue.

No, it's not possible, Emma thought to herself…Just like Henry…just like the dream.

It was all too familiar to Emma.

No, Emma regained her courage. Not this time.

She rushed forward and tackled Cora, knocking her off her feet. The heart fell from Cora's grasp into Emma's hands. She took a quick glance back to Killian, whose breathing had returned to normal. Emma looked back, but Cora was too fast. She disappeared and reappeared behind Snow. Cora brought her arm across Snow's neck in a chokehold.

Emma stood and ran in her direction, still holding Killian's heart, but was stopped as she felt her body immobilize.

Cora looked at her with triumph. "I know exactly what I need to make a portal here, Emma Swan. So, bring me the magic beans and the compass, and your mother will be set free. If you fail, her heart is next. I'll be waiting in the throne room."

Cora laughed and disappeared with Snow in a puff of black smoke. Emma lunged forward in an effort to grab her mother, but she was too late.

She made the split decision and rushed back to Killian. Killian was still regaining his breath. "Killian, I don't know how to do this."

"Emma, all you have to do is reach in and put the heart back in its place," he instructed her. "Don't be afraid."

Emma swallowed and closed her eyes.

"Love, don't close your eyes! You're the one fixing this!" Killian said exasperated. "I should be the one closing my eyes!"

"Sorry! It's not my fault I haven't done this before!" she said through her slowly falling tears. She took a deep breath and made the process quick. She plunged the heart back into Killian's chest and immediately took her hand back out. Killian's breath stopped momentarily.

"Killian?" Emma was in tears now. "Killian, please wake up."

His eyes flew open as he took a deep breath. He directed his gaze to Emma and smiled. He sat up and planted a deep kiss on her lips. "I promised I'd never leave you."

Emma smiled through her tears. "I knew you wouldn't leave me."

Killian sat up and wiped the tears off Emma's face. "Don't worry, Emma. We'll get them back." They both stood up and looked in the direction of the paved path leading towards the castle bridge.

Emma asked as she wiped away the rest of her tears., "How does she know about the magic beans?"

"I honestly don't know, princess," Killian admitted. "She must've known from the beginning. This must've been part of her grand plan the entire time."

"You were supposed to take the compass from me," Emma looked at him.

"Well then, it looks as if I bested Cora," Killian laughed.

"Well, it looks as if you have," Emma squeezed his hand.

"Come, love, let's go save a queen," Killian smiled.

"I believe you mean my mother," Emma smiled back.

So, the dynamic duo began their journey to the castle.


	16. Nursery Rhymes

Chapter 16: Nursery Rhymes

Emma:

She was still holding Killian's hand when they reached the top of the path; it took them less than an hour to reach the bridge. Killian looked down and laughed at her.

"Tired already, love?" he smirked.

"Sorry, I'm not as good as you," Emma managed a weak smile.

"Hop on," Killian, still laughing, turned around so Emma could climb onto his back.

"Are you sure about this?" Emma asked.

"Just don't worry about it," Killian reassured her.

Emma sighed as she rested on his back. She looked on as the bridge came into view. She saw that the sides had worn away ever since the curse hit. Small piece were still crumbling and plummeting to the water below. "Killian," she said out loud, "please be careful."

He looked over his shoulder and met her eyes. "Do you doubt me?"

Emma tightened her grip around his neck and shoulders as he advanced. She watched in amazement as he picked his way carefully, but rapidly across the bridge. He walked nimbly and before she knew it, they were three quarters of the way across. She looked ahead and saw there was a gap about four feet wide. She closed her eyes and held her breath in fear that they wouldn't make it across. Emma felt Killian take a few steps back, and then took off running. For a moment, they were defying gravity, and Emma placed a death grip on Killian. His landing was so soft of the other side of the gap, that Emma never felt a thing.

"Love, open your eyes," she heard Killian whisper to her.

Emma slowly opened her eyes and looked around. He cleared the jump. She exhaled in relief and kissed him on the cheek. "I think I can walk from here."

She hopped off his back and looked forward. The front looked so much more different than the side. When they first came to the castle, they'd climbed up the side. Emma saw that the front of the castle and the small village that surrounded it had not made it through the curse. Wooden foot carts were reduced to ashes; carriages were dissembled; guard posts in the higher parts of the castle were abandoned. Killian took her hand and guided her forward to the entrance of the main castle. She gulped as she saw that the grand doors were still standing, but the walls had been charred with ash. She pictured her parents when she saw the look of the castle. A wave of pain and sorrow washed over her. She couldn't imagine what her mom went through, considering she had to watch her own home destroyed. She couldn't imagine what Snow went through when they first came into the nursery.

She felt Killian hug her shoulders and kiss her forehead. "Don't worry, love. One day, the castle will be back to what it used to be."

"It was probably the most beautiful thing," Emma couldn't let go of her thoughts.

"Your father's castle, this castle, was heaven-sent, golden, compared to your mother's castle."

"I could imagine that," Emma smiled.

"Let's take a look inside," Killian walked forward and pulled Emma with him.

Emma wasn't sure if she was prepared to see what her home looked like.

Killian:

Killian never let go of her hand as she led the way through the castle. He cringed as he saw the sight of the grand entrance. It looked as if the entrance had taken a beating. The rails on the grand staircase were practically gone. As they climbed up the staircase, Emma's grip loosened, but remained in his hand. Her pace quickened as they reached the top. She veered left and followed a winding hallway for about ten minutes. Just walking in the hallway made Killian dizzy. They reached the end of the hall; Emma stopped at the mouth of yet _another_ staircase.

"Sorry, my parents decided for some reason to put my nursery in another tower, but don't worry, there's only one more floor to go," Emma reassured him.

"You're in shape to run through a grand castle, yet you can't walk two miles," Killian shook his head in disbelief.

She rolled her eyes and surged forward. The staircase wound to the right. Emma was walking up so fast, that Killian's legs couldn't keep up. Damn, woman, he thought to himself.

They reached the top and the couple was met with another hallway. Emma let go of his hand and ran down the hallway. Killian followed her in exhaustion. By the time they reached the end, Killian stopped and caught his breath. Emma was standing in front of a pair of tall rosewood doors. He looked back at the other end of the hallway and realized that they'd run a lot more than he'd thought.

"Is this your nursery?" Killian asked, standing straight.

"Yeah, well, it was my nursery," Emma replied. She pushed the doors open, only to reveal what looked like a cave of ash.

Killian stepped inside and realized than everything was covered in ash. He looked to his right and saw there was a ruined object that took up a quarter of the room. He walked towards the object and crouched down.

"That was my wardrobe. It transported me to the other world when I was only hours old," she told him quietly.

He extended his hand and picked up a handful of ashes, then let them fall through his fingers. "Emma," he turned and looked at her. "Is there any container in this room, or something to put ashes in?"

"Why not just take the ashes from Cora?" she asked.

"That'll be too complicated."

Emma nodded in agreement and began searching her room.

Emma:

She walked left to one of the two bookshelves in the room. She looked through each shelf, trying to find some sort of container for the ashes. She crouched down and looked through the bottom shelf. A black wooden box caught her eye. She reached over and grabbed it from the shelf. Emma walked over to Killian, but didn't hand him the box.

"What do you think it is?" she asked.

"I don't know, but it would be perfect if we could put some ashes in that box, love," Killian urged.

"No, not yet. I feel like –I feel like…" Emma couldn't figure out what to say.

She gingerly examined the box. There was a delicately painted swan on the front, with painted roses on all four sides of the box. She carefully turned it over and looked at the bottom. There was a name lightly carved out in calligraphy. It read:

"Odette."

Emma had heard the name somewhere, but she couldn't remember where. Why would my mom have this in my nursery, she asked herself.

"What is it, love?" Killian saw the concern on Emma's face.

"It says 'Odette' on the bottom of this thing," she looked at him.

She was the expression on his face; it looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "What is it?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Killian shook it off.

Emma didn't believe him, but there was no time for asking questions. She flipped it back to the front and carefully lifted the lid. A little plastic ballerina popped up and music started playing. The ballerina was attached to a magnetic plate as it began to spin around a mini white platform. The music was vaguely familiar to Emma. The harps were playing the music, but something else nabbed in the back of her mind. Forget it, Emma regained her thoughts.

Killian stood now and pulled Emma up with him. "Emma, there's nothing in that box but the ballerina."

Emma raised an eyebrow and tapped the bottom of the box. It wasn't hollow.

She gingerly pinched the ballerina between her pointer finger and her thumb and lifted. The white lifted with the ballerina and revealed a secret second compartment. Emma gasped and nearly dropped the box as she saw what was inside the compartment.

Killian asked a second time. "What is it this time?"

"I think –I think I found the magic beans," Emma smiled and laughed.

Killian rushed to her side and looked for himself. Indeed, there were about two dozen magic beans stuffed inside of the compartment, all glowing white.

"How is this possible?" Killian said in disbelief. "The beans are supposed to be dead and useless."

"I don't know, but now we have a way back," Emma said with joy. "I need to take this back with me to Storybrooke."

"I can find Alice," Killian whispered.

"And, I'll be helping with that," Emma looked at him. "Come back with us. You've helped us find a way back to Storybrooke, so now it's my turn to return the favor."

Killian smiled. He planted a kiss on Emma's lips and remained there, in a way of saying thank you. "I'm not good enough for you."

Emma formed a smile. "You're perfect."

"Well," Killian looked at her. "Are we going to steal the ashes from the queen, or are we taking our own?"

"I'm working with a pirate. It would be a bit strange if he didn't steal," Emma laughed and kissed him again.

"You'd make a hell of a pirate," Killian kissed her forehead.

Emma took a chance and attempted to use magic for the first time. Emma pictured the black wooden box shrinking down to the size of a mini sugar cube. She focused all of her thoughts on the tiny object and watched as the object really shrunk.

"Wow, I did it," Emma said surprised.

"Magic helps, doesn't it," Killian smiled.

He draped his right arm over Emma as they walked towards the entrance of the nursery. Emma took one last look before they stepped back out to the hallway and made their way to the throne room.


	17. The Last Heart

Chapter 17: The Last Heart

Killian:

Killian once again died from exhaustion as Emma rushed through two floors just to reach the throne room. They stopped at the entrance, standing in front of the rosewood doors.

"What's the plan?" Emma asked, with a hint of fear in her voice.

"Lass, there is no plan, we just wing it," Killian looked at her.

"I'm being serious," Emma's tone was serious.

"I'm being serious too," Killian retorted. "If we make up a plan, it has the potential of failing miserably, so that is why I wing every situation I'm in."

Emma looked hesitant, but finally she agreed. "I've never been in here, so I don't know what it looks like."

"That doesn't matter. All that matters is we rescue your mother and find Mulan and Aurora," Killian pulled her in close and kissed her. "Now, let's get this over with."

Killian went first, with Emma's hand holding his hook. He had his sword ready in his right hand as he kicked the doors open. The minute the throne room was seen, Emma and Killian gasped alike. There was something wrong with the room. In fact, there was nothing wrong with it.

During the curse, the throne room had been left untouched.

"Wow," was all Killian could say.

He regained his thoughts as he guided Emma into the room, who was still marveling at the sight. The walls were literally covered in gold, with maroon drapes covering each window that lined the left and right walls. If the drapes hadn't been down, the common person would've seen the sea on the left and the mountains on the right. The floor was tiled silver all around. Limestone pillars supported the ceiling on both the right and left side, leading down to the main thrones. The ceilings were covered with paintings of the heavens, lined with gold. A red carpet was set at their feet, which provided a path to a mini staircase that led to the thrones.

A muffled voice came from the left side of the room. Killian instantly whipped his head in the direction and saw Mulan and Aurora bound to one of the pillars.

"Emma, Mulan and Aurora," Killian began.

He looked at Emma and when she didn't respond and followed her eyes. The king and queen's seats were set at the end of the carpet, raised at the top of the mini limestone staircase. The king's granite throne was empty, but the queen's was not.

Snow White was lying limp at the foot of her throne, unconscious. Killian looked with horror as Cora played a smirk on her face, sitting in a throne she did not belong in. She crossed her arms as she was waiting for Killian and Emma's arrival.

Emma:

She instinctively ran to her mother's aid, but Cora knew better.

Cora used her magic, but so did Emma.

Cora lifted her hand and used magic to stop Emma, but Emma was ready; she did exactly what she did with the box. She imagined an invisible shield to protect her from the magic. Emma saw with her eyes that a shield gradually formed around her, yet, it was invisible to Cora. So, without any trouble, Emma reached Snow.

Emma grabbed Snow's hand and put a shield around her mother.

"So," Cora snarled. "You've learned to use your magic."

"Yeah, I have," Emma snapped back.

"Give me what I want," Cora said as she held up Snow's heart, "or you can watch your mother die, right here, right now."

She's not going to win, Emma thought as she willed herself to use as much magic as possible. She focused her thoughts on her mother's heart and only the heart. She thought of Henry's face because it made her happy; she thought of her father because she knew her mother loved him dearly, and she knew she needed a father figure for once in her life, so he made her happy too; she thought of Storybrooke because it was her home and she knew she couldn't live without it. She thought of Killian because he was the silver lining that was missing from her life.

She held out her hand and used her magic to send the heart flying into her hand. Cora wasn't expecting the move as she watched in shock as the heart was no longer in her grasp.

Emma used her magic and sent Cora flying into one of the pillars; she turned around and in a quick maneuver, she plunged the heart back into her mother's chest. Instantly, Snow's eyes flew open and she smiled when she saw Emma.

"I love you, Mom," Emma gave her a quick hug, "but I need to take care of something. Go with Killian and cut Mulan and Aurora loose from the pillar."

Snow nodded and ran to Killian, while Emma turned back around in time to see Cora advancing towards her.

"You'll never defeat me, you fool!" Cora cried. "I'm the most powerful one here."

"You should know, though," Emma said bravely, "that true love beats everything."

Cora magically conjured daggers and sent them in Emma's direction, while Emma stopped them in midair, letting them drop. She summoned two swords and tossed one to Cora.

"Let's finish this the right way," Emma challenged.

"Yes, because you'll actually beat me in a sword fight," Cora accepted the challenge.

Cora advanced first, taking multiple jabs at Emma, but she deflected them with ease. What would David do in this situation, Emma thought, putting herself into her father's shoes.

She sliced left and right and watched as Cora had trouble deflecting and moving away from Emma's maneuvers. She jabbed at all angles and performed a series of combinations with the sword. She was winning.

Snow:

Snow watched from across the room as Cora was beginning to take advantage of Emma. She untied the bonds that were preventing Aurora from escaping as she simultaneously watched Emma. Aurora's hands were free and within the next second she turned to Hook, grabbed his sword from its sheath, and ran to Emma and Cora.

"Your majesty!" Hook yelled after her.

Snow heard, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that Cora would not harm a single hair on Emma. She watched as Cora knocked the sword from Emma's hands; her daughter's sword skid a good fifty feet away. Cora threw the sword down in triumph, but Emma's magic shield was barely holding it centimeters away from her chest. Cora pushed the sword further, but Emma resisted, struggling.

Snow ran faster and reached her daughter in time. She used Hook's sword to knock Cora's sword away from Emma. Cora was once again unprepared and stood up straight, not expecting the next move:

Snow plunged Hook's sword into Cora with her left hand, and pulled Cora close enough for her to finish the battle. She plunged her right hand into Cora chest and ripped out a black heart. She pulled the sword out from Cora and stepped back with her heart.

Cora looked up with wide eyes, shocked.

"You have your mother's powers," Cora gasped as she began to struggle with her breath.

"No one knew, except for my parents and my husband," Snow said furious.

"You wouldn't dare," Cora rasped.

"Watch me."

Snow was waiting for the day this would come. She wanted to watch Cora have a slow and painful death. Slowly, she squeezed the black heart. All the anger in the world washed through her as she watched Cora crumble. She squeezed faster, releasing all of her past fury on the one woman she hated. Faster and faster Cora's breath left her body. Snow watched triumphantly as Cora's eyes looked pleadingly at her for one last time. And in the next second, the heart was reduced to dust; and, Cora moved no more. Snow stood over the body and blew the dust from her hand over the corpse. Finally, Cora's body disintegrated into dust. Snow used her magic and made the dust disappear.

Finally, she thought to herself, letting out a long sigh.

She turned around only to see her daughter standing there, arms crossed, in shock. "What the fuck just happened?"

"Don't worry," Snow reassured her. "I promised Charming that she was the only woman I'd ever kill if I got the chance."

"How did you –since when –you can use magic?" Emma asked, flabbergasted.

"It's a family thing, at least on my side of the family it is," Snow smiled.

"Well, love," Killian said as he walked over to Snow and Emma. "I sure hope you're like your mother, she's got the guts to actually kill. Your majesty," he bowed to Snow, "you have my full respect now, and I'd like my sword, if you don't mind."

Snow laughed and gave the sword back to him, "Don't worry, she takes well after her parents and her grandparents."

Mulan and Aurora joined the three of them.

"Now, I think it's about time we get back to Storybrooke," Snow looked at all of them and smiled. "Did you get the magic beans, Emma?"

"Yeah," Emma said slowly. "Why would you put them in the place that I found them?"

"I'll explain later," Snow promised. "But for now, let's get to work."

So, the group began planning their journey back to Storybrooke.


	18. Fallout

Chapter 18: Fallout

Emma:

She looked at Killian and her mother as they discussed possible ways to set up the portal; she looked over to Mulan and Aurora who were discussing something deeply. She picked Mulan and Aurora.

Emma walked over. "What's going on?"

"Well," Aurora turned to her. "I don't know if I want to go back. I mean, I don't know what it'll be like."

"Well, in case you ever want to come back, there are always more magic beans to spare," Emma reassured them. "If you ever want to come back, I can always give you one so you can come back here."

Mulan nodded in agreement. "I like the idea. How about we give it a try?" Mulan looked at Aurora.

Aurora thought about it for a moment, and finally agreed.

Emma smiled at the both of them and turned to talk to Killian and Snow. Snow saw her before she even got to the two. "Emma, where's the box?"

Emma pulled out the box from her right jacket pocket. She brought it back to its normal size. She looked up at Snow to make sure she was watching. Carefully, she opened the box and the same music started playing once more with the ballerina.

"Oh, it still works," Snow said as Emma saw that Snow's eyes were dancing with joy.

"Yeah, care to explain to me about this thing when we get back to Storybrooke?" Emma eyed her.

"You'll love the story," Snow promised.

Snow lifted the ballerina and saw the magic beans. Emma watched as she gingerly picked one of the glowing beans.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Emma asked.

Killian:

"Well love," Killian stepped in and began explaining. "Cora left the wardrobe ash on your mother's throne, so I went and got it. You've still got the compass on your neck, and we have magic beans now."

"So," Snow picked up, "we're going to make the portal in here. We'll dump the ash and scatter them enough so that it makes the portal wide enough."

Killian said next, "We're going to use two magic beans so that it's certain all of us will get back to this Storybrooke you speak of."

"And, we'll all somehow be holding a part of the compass, so that when we jump through, the compass will guide us back to Storybrooke," Snow finished.

Killian warmed on the inside as he watched Emma process the plan and smile. "I like how this sounds," she nodded and smiled.

"Wonderful," Killian laughed, "now go and get the other two. I'd like to see this home of yours."

"Ah, don't forget," she teased him. "You're standing in my home already."

She walked away and Killian looked at Snow. "She called this home," she said with amazement. "If only her father were here to see that."

Emma brought Aurora and Mulan over to Snow and Killian. "Alright then," Emma said. "It looks like we're ready."

Snow and Killian dumped the wardrobe ash in front of the group and scattered it into a circular shape. Snow threw one magic bean onto the ash while Emma took one more from the box and tossed it next to the first bean. Instantly, the ground began depressing and a swirl of dark green began to appear. The group watched as it grew into a type of funnel and the dark green began to turn to a light green. Killian looked at Emma and she took the compass off her neck. Snow held onto the main compass, Mulan and Aurora on one side of the chain, Killian and Emma on the other side of the chain. Emma took Killian's hand and held it tightly; Killian took one last look at her.

He leaned and gave her a confident kiss. "We've made it this far, Emma."

"Thank you, for everything, for not leaving," he felt her smile on his lips.

He kissed her once more before they prepared for launched. They all looked at each other and nodded.

At that moment, the five were sucked into the green portal, hoping to make it back to Storybrooke.

Snow:

Snow felt a ripple of pain move down her back as she dared to open her eyes. Her vision was blurry as she tried to grasp her whereabouts. She took a deep breath and waited momentarily as her vision clear. She sat up and looked around.

Snow smiled.

They made it back to Storybrooke.

She looked around and saw that Mulan had regained her consciousness, along with Aurora. "So," Mulan said. "This is Storybrooke."

"It's the forest," Snow smiled.

Aurora was going to speak, but her eyes opened wide and showed a look of fear. Snow whipped her head around only to see the man she'd been waiting for.

"Charming," she whispered and smiled. She jumped to her feet and ran into his arms. He leaned in and gave her a longing, well-deserved kiss.

"You found me," Charming smiled.

"Of course I did," Snow laughed and kissed him again.

Charming looked around and saw Mulan and Aurora and smiled. Snow introduced Charming to the two. Snow turned back around and saw Henry running towards the group.

"Henry!" Snow exclaimed and opened her arms to embrace him.

"I'm so glad you're back!" Henry cried.

Everything was going well, they didn't notice anything for a while…

After their rendez-vous, Charming sighed with satisfaction and scanned the surrounding forest, but instantly, the satisfaction was gone. Snow noticed the change.

"What's wrong?" Snow asked, suddenly concerned.

"Where's –where's Emma?"

"They're –," Snow began and turned around. She noticed that the three had appeared next to the well, but no Emma or Hook. "They –they didn't make it through with us."

"What are you talking about?" Henry asked.

"Emma threw in a second magic bean," Aurora said. "How could this have happened?"

"Look," Mulan knelt down and picked up a broken compass. "The compass is still here, but there's only half of a chain left."

Snow and Charming's eyes widened. "Where do you think she went?" Charming asked.

"She couldn't have gone anywhere. I don't know where she would've gotten any ideas. I mean…" Snow's voice trailed off. "Oh no."

"Why 'oh no,'" Henry pressed.

"I was talking to Hook on the ship, and he began talking about Alice, and he said that he'd find her again, and…he must've told Emma the story," Snow was panicking.

"Hook, as in Killian?" Charming asked. "I thought he was in Neverland."

"He came back and began working with Cora. But, he met Emma and he came over to our side."

"Oh god, don't tell me he's with Emma right now," Charming shook his head.

"Charming," Snow looked at him. "We need to find Jefferson. Henry, please take Mulan and Aurora to Ruby."

"But I want to help," Henry protested.

"Henry," Snow crouched down so she was Henry's height. "I need you to do this for me, for Charming, for Emma. We need to find a way to get back to her. And, when we do, that's when you can help."

Henry didn't speak, but finally agreed. Snow and Charming watched as Henry guided Aurora and Mulan to the diner.

"What are we going to do?" Charming looked at her.

"I never knew Hook would tell her anything. We only agreed on the fact that Emma knew how to use magic."

"Oh, so our daughter has your family's powers too?"

"Sadly, yes, but I still don't understand how I didn't see this coming."

"Wait, don't tell me…"

"We need to find Jefferson."

The king and queen ventured out of the forest and searched for the Mad Hatter.

Charming:

His wife came back, but not his daughter. He'd waited so long just to see them, he was so excited just to develop his relationship with Emma, but now, that wouldn't happen anytime soon. And, now, she was stuck with the filthy pirate. Why had she chosen him, Charming wondered as they searched through Storybrooke.

"Do you still know how to use your tracking magic?" Charming asked Snow.

"I don't think you want me to do that here," Snow didn't allow it.

"It's urgent. Our daughter is still missing."

Snow sighed and paused in the spot she was standing in. Charming waited as he waited for his wife to use magic. Slowly, but surely, Snow began to shrink, and her clothes shrunk with her. In the next five seconds, she was about a foot tall, but no longer human; she'd turned into a swan.

God, I hope Emma won't ever learn to do this, Charming thought to himself.

"Lead the way," he spoke to Snow.

She seemed to understand even as a swan and moved in front of him. They weaved in and out of the town, and soon found themselves at the beach. Charming followed Snow as they saw him sitting on a worn wooden bench.

Snow willed herself to return to human form, except now, all of her clothes were white. She coughed to get Jefferson's attention.

He turned his head and smiled at the sight of the two. "So, you need my help."

"How did you know?" Charming asked.

"It's not every day that you see a king and a queen approach an ordinary person," he let out a long sigh.

"This is serious," Charming pressed.

"How serious," Jefferson still didn't believe them.

"Killian Jones serious," Snow pressed.

Jefferson's eyes widened as he had trouble searching for words. "Did he really…"

"Killian Jones has fallen in love with our daughter," Charming started.

"He took her with him to Wonderland," Snow continued.

Charming finished it off, "They're going to try to find Alice and they're going to try to get her back here."


	19. Discovery

Chapter 19: Discovery

Rumplestiltskin:

He leaned on the shop counter and looked at the Evil Queen. "Your majesty, Emma Swan did not return with her mother."

"I don't know if I should be celebrating, or if I should be worried," Regina sighed.

"Think about it. She's gone, and now you can be Henry's mother, he can look up to you now."

Regina paused and gave the idea a long thought. "He'll just be even more upset with me because I didn't save her."

"Dearie, you need to consider. Maybe Cora took her instead and let Snow pass through."

"If Emma's dead, you realize how bad that would be?"

Mr. Gold was close to speaking, but he saw Jefferson, Snow, and Charming walk past the shop. "What in the world," Regina saw too.

"They're up to something," Mr. Gold observed. "It's probably Emma."

"Why would Jefferson have anything to do with Emma?"

"Let's find out."

Mr. Gold and Regina left the shop and followed the trio.

Evil Queen:

"Hey!" she yelled from behind the trio.

Snow turned around and saw Regina; she made a sour face. "What do you want?"

"That's not the right way to speak to your mother," Regina smirked.

"You are not my mother," Snow stepped forward, but Charming and Jefferson held her back."

"Now, now, we don't want to create a scene, do we?"

"Just tell us what you want," Charming demanded.

"What are the three of you up to?" Regina asked.

"It's none of your business," Jefferson spoke.

"Dearies," Mr. Gold spoke. "Of course it's our business. We're the most powerful people here. So, I suggest you listen before something really serious happens."

"I thought you promised Belle you'd change," Charming crossed his arms.

"This is different," Regina defended Gold.

Snow sighed and turned around; she kept walking. Charming and Jefferson followed. Regina was ready to use magic. She sent a flash of green from her hand in Snow's direction, hoping to blast her to the ground, but nothing happened.

"Why isn't she affected by our magic?" Regina looked at Gold.

He, too, tried the same exact thing as Regina, except on Charming. Again, nothing.

"I'm afraid, your majesty, that one of them has the ability to use magic. And, quite a powerful amount," Gold said with shock.

"Powerful enough to defeat both of us?"

Gold said nothing and began walking back to his shop, leaving Regina standing firmly in her place.


	20. A Hopeful Transmission

Chapter 20: A Hopeful Transmission

Jefferson:

The three went to Jefferson's house. He led them through the hallway, into his hat room.

"You're going to make these hats work?" Charming laughed, not believing that they would accomplish the feat.

"Well, the other one was burned in a fire, so there's no hurt in trying," Jefferson retorted.

"What's going to happen if you get one of these to work?" Snow asked.

Jefferson smiled. "We go to Wonderland of course."

He walked over to one of the many shelves and began examining the pre-made hats. He scanned over the top shelf many times until he found one on the very far right end. He stood on his tip-toes and retrieved the hat from the shelf. It looked brand new; it was pure black in color, with seams and stitches perfect, perfect in balance. It had one white strip running around the crown. It was too small for Jefferson.

He picked up another right next to it. This hat was identical to the first, except instead of a white strip, it was a sky blue color. It fit Jefferson perfectly.

"Why two hats?" Snow asked.

"This one with the white is Grace's hat. She made it herself. If I go to Wonderland, she's coming with me."

"Whose is the second one?" Charming pointed.

"Mine, of course."

"You're taking Grace to Wonderland with you?" Charming continued to interrogate.

"She deserves to see her mother at least once in her life."

There was an uncomfortable silence between the three as Jefferson walked towards the door. "We're making the portal in the entrance hall."

He walked out the door, and Snow and Charming followed.

Jefferson carried one hat in each hand and set them down on the tile. He stood straight and thought for a moment. "Grace should be home within the next few minutes, and then I'll tell you my plan."

Snow nodded. "Henry said he wanted to help. Would you consider taking him with you?"

"Of course, but if he gets into any trouble, I can't be blamed for it," Jefferson looked at her. Then, he looked at Charming. "I'll do my best to find your daughter and the pirate, but I can't promise anything. You know how the Queen of Hearts is with me."

"I understand," David nodded. "Please, keep Henry safe, and Emma. You can leave the pirate if you'd like."

"If I leave Killian, Alice won't come back," Jefferson corrected him.

Grace came in with Henry following her. "Dad, I brought Henry here so he can see my hat!"

"Perfect timing," Jefferson smiled to his daughter and picked her up. "Guess what?"

"Do I get to use my hat for the first time?" Grace asked excitedly.

"Snow White and Prince Charming are going to help," he laughed.

"Do I get to watch?" Henry looked at Snow and Charming, as if asking for permission.

"Jefferson's going to tell us what he plans on doing," Charming reassured him.

And Jefferson began his plan:

"If and when we get these hats to work, we're going to use them to travel to Wonderland. We're going to create two portals at once, one with Grace's hat, and one with mine. We're going to combine the two so that it creates a portal big and strong enough for Grace, Henry, and me. It should lead to the room between all of the worlds. When we get there, we'll go through the looking glass door and go to Wonderland. We begin our search and try to find Emma, Killian, and possibly Alice. If and when that happens, we'll figure it all out from there."

"Sounds fair enough," Charming agreed.

"Yeah, we can't go to Regina about this because the minute she finds out we're trying to get Alice back, she'll execute us…well at me, she'll execute"

"She's already on to us though," Snow said.

"She won't even notice I'm gone, not with you two here."

"What about Henry?" Snow asked.

"Just say he crossed the Storybrooke town line with Grace."

There was a pause momentarily as Charming and Snow processed the plan. "It sounds like a good plan."

"Good, now all we have to do is figure out a way to get magic. We might be able to travel by tomorrow."

"Actually," said Snow, smiling to Charming. "You'll be travelling sooner than that.

Snow:

She stepped forward and crouched down to both of the hats. "Jefferson, if you tell anyone, just know that I will have you banished," Charming gave a clear sign.

"I won't tell a soul," Jefferson promised.

Snow waved her hand over the top of the hats and flipped them both over. She muttered a spell under her breath and placed one hand in both hats. She gave magic back to the hats and smiled, successful. She stood and looked at Jefferson. "They should work now."

Charming leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and looked at Henry. "Henry, give me your hand."

Henry obeyed without hesitation and opened his palm up to her. Snow conjured a sword, perfect for him, perfect in balance and size. "I get to take this with me?" Henry marveled at the sword.

It had a pin sharp blade with two sides. The grip was ruby read with the pommel and the cross-guard silver plated. A large ruby was placed in the center of the pommel. Snow conjured a leather black scabbard and attached it to Henry's belt. He smiled and slipped the sword into the scabbard.

"You need to be able to protect yourself when you're there," Charming smiled. "Just remember what I taught you."

"I will," Henry smiled and gave both Snow and Charming a hug.

"Alright, are we ready?" Jefferson asked.

Snow crouched and looked at Henry once more. She kissed his forehead and looked at him. "Don't forget about us. Find Emma and bring her straight home. Be a hero."

Charming ruffled his hair. "Don't get separated from Jefferson or Grace because they're the only way you can get back to Storybrooke."

Henry nodded and turned to Jefferson. "I'm ready now."

"Excellent.

Snow watched as Jefferson spoke to Grace. "Remember how I showed you."

Grace smiled and nodded. The father and the daughter placed their hats within inches of each other; they spun their hats counterclockwise and stepped back, waiting for the portals to form. After about three seconds, clouds of navy blue began to rise from the hats, and soon enough, two portals, conjoined, formed. They began to open up, waiting for Jefferson, Grace, and Henry,

The three held hands and jumped.

Snow grabbed Charming's hand as they watched the portals disappear, along with the two hats.

Charming pulled Snow close to him and kissed her on the top of the head. "Don't worry, Henry and Emma will find us again."

Snow sighed and hoped for the best. "We're family. We'll always find each other."

She took Charming's hand and squeezed it. Together, they walked out the door, waiting for the return of the people they loved.


	21. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

**Unfortunately, I'm deciding to end this here, because I'm planning on writing a sequel to this and I don't want to keep this dragging on and on and on. I felt like this was going to be a never-ending story, so it needed to be cut off at some point.**

**A quick look at what I'll be including in the sequel to this: the main thing is that it'll tell of the journey in Wonderland with Killian, Emma, Jefferson, Alice, Henry, and Grace. Yes, the Queen of Hearts will be in it. Yes, the whole thing with Odette will be in it and my version of Snow's story, and Jefferson's story, and Alice's story. There may be some scenes in Storybrooke, I haven't decided…actually, yeah, because I still have to explain what happened to Mulan and Aurora.**

**Also, thank you very much for the reviews –positive or negative –and I really appreciate that you guys have stayed this entire time. I don't know how times I have to say thank you :) I know I have to work on my grammar and syntax usage, and I tried my best to publish at a decent rate because I've been balancing this between 5 Advanced Placement classes and swimming, so hopefully I didn't do too bad with that. I'll try to be more creative on the titles.**

**I can't thank you guys enough for all the support. I hope my sequel will be better and improved.**

**Unless I shouldn't write a sequel, just give me a heads up.**

**But seriously though, thank you :) **


	22. Author's Note Dos

**Author's Note Dos**

**Yeah, so decided that I'm for sure writing a sequel to this.**

**One problem: I need help coming up with a title for the sequel, so if you have any ideas, please let me know! It will be much appreciated, and I will give credit if I happen to pick someone's title :) **

**Thanks again :) **


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